23 Sep Bajan Rum Punch
Which rum is best for a Bajan Rum Punch Cocktail?
As its name easily decodes for folks, a Bajan Rum Punch is most often associated with Rum from Barbados. Regarding body, the cocktail runs the gamut with recipes using lighter rums to fuller bodied iterations with every local bar having its preferences. The Dos Maderas 5+3 is a Double Aged Rum incorporating Rum from Barbados and from Guyana which then travels to Jerez for additional aging. As a nod to the historic travelling identity of Rums in punch, it’s a pretty well paired selection for this recipe.
About Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum
Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum blends the lighter Baja Rum with the richer Guyana style and ages for 5 years in the Caribbean followed by 3 years in Jerez, Spain in Palo Cortado casks. The smooth character of the 5+3 is awash with pleasant vanilla, hazelnut, coconut and subtle maple.
About Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum
Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum blends the lighter Baja Rum with the richer Guyana style and ages for 5 years in the Caribbean followed by 3 years in Jerez, Spain in Palo Cortado casks. The smooth character of the 5+3 is awash with pleasant vanilla, hazelnut, coconut and subtle maple.
Ingredients to make a Classic Bajan Rum Punch using a shaker
2 oz. Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. Rich Simple Syrup (2:1)
1-2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Mint
Bajan Rum Punch Recipe - Step by step how to prepare a shaken Bajan Rum Punch
1.
Prepare your Rich Simple Syrup by dissolving 2 parts cane sugar into 1 part boiling water. Let cool.
2.
Chill a Double-Rocks or Highball glass.
3.
Cut a lime in half and juice your limes.
4.
Add all ingredients to your shaker.
5.
Fill shaker with cracked ice.
6.
Shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
7.
Double-strain, using a fine mesh strainer to remove excess pulp and ice shards, into your chilled glass over fresh cracked ice.
8.
Garnish with a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg and mint.
History of the Bajan Rum
The classic Daiquiri may be the parent to all Tiki or Tropical Style Rum Cocktails, but the Punch is ancestor to all cocktails period. Before there were jiggers, shaker tins and chipped ice, merchants and sailors explored the rest of the known world and survived on punch rations aboard ships and in punch houses. From 17th century England to the newly developed spice trade with India and beyond the practice of weakening spirits with citrus, sugar and water became as daily as one’s bread. The phrase “one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four weak” is the national rhyme in Barbados. Fittingly, the Bajan or Barbadian Rum Punch is one of the oldest iterations of the Rum Punch recipe. Punch was born via the trade routes of the British East India Company and when England had sailed west and found sugar cane in the Caribbean isles, the term Punch took one step closer to becoming near synonymous with Rum Punch. Due to its simplicity it is not difficult to see how the Bajan Rum Punch began and has continued to this day.
Tips for the Bajan Rum Punch Cocktail
Tip 1: Freshly grated nutmeg is an essential garnish for the Bajan Rum Punch. If you can, use a whole pod and grate it a la minute. Pre-grated nutmeg loses its aroma over time and becomes akin to grating dust with hints of spice. One pod will last a very long time.
Tip 2: When preparing your Rich Simple syrup, try adding a tsp. of lime or orange zest to brighten it up and add an extra citrus blossom accent.
Tip 3: In accordance with the phrase 4 of weak, serving over fresh cracked ice is designed to keep the balance but if you prefer your cocktail served without ice, you can add an ounce of water to your shaker and strain into a chilled punch cup instead.
Tips for the Bajan Rum Punch Cocktail
Tip 1: Freshly grated nutmeg is an essential garnish for the Bajan Rum Punch. If you can, use a whole pod and grate it a la minute. Pre-grated nutmeg loses its aroma over time and becomes akin to grating dust with hints of spice. One pod will last a very long time.
Tip 2: When preparing your Rich Simple syrup, try adding a tsp. of lime or orange zest to brighten it up and add an extra citrus blossom accent.
Tip 3: In accordance with the phrase 4 of weak, serving over fresh cracked ice is designed to keep the balance but if you prefer your cocktail served without ice, you can add an ounce of water to your shaker and strain into a chilled punch cup instead.
Bajan Rum Punch Variations and types
Award winning bartender and author Martin Cate relies on coconut water for the “4 of weak” in this simple recipe without the spice.
Much in the spirit of the maritime history, Donn Beach created this overly potent recipe that included fresh grapefruit and mint and subbed honey syrup for the sugar.
Bartender Austin Hartman shares this recipe where ginger syrup is used in place of the simple syrup and the recipe is topped with an ounce of soda water.
More well known in some circles is this Jamaican Rum version which also has considerable literary history. It usually includes three fruits like pineapple, lime, orange and fresh mint.
FAQ
While the classic formula does not include pineapple or orange or grenadine in it, many Bajan bars have been riffing endlessly on the recipe for decades.
If you travel from one island to the next you might hear of some unique Rum Punch option over another. With the exception of Martinique where the Ti Punch reigns, most of these drinks are given the moniker of the island they are on and are all generally some sort of mix of sweet tropical juices and the local rum. Because the Bajan Rum Punch is deemed the oldest, its original format is easier to lock down.
The best glassware is a Double Rocks or Highball or Collins.
Like all punch recipes, the drink is designed to be less potent by way of its weak ingredient, usually water or tea. If you elect not to serve your punch over ice, be sure to add an ounce of chilled water or tea to your shaker for the proper dilution. Punch should never be too strong, no matter the conclusions you might derive from Donn Beach’s Navy Grog recipe.
Much like how we will never know who created the first Punch recipe, we have no historic record of the first creator of the Bajan Rum Punch. We can be fairly certain that it is the British that brought the first Punch into fruition, however.
Cocktails with Dos Maderas 5+3
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