DIY Rum Punch: How To Create Your Own Signature Blend
There’s much debate over where and when exactly the first iteration of punch was created. While some culinary historians place it in the early 17th century, Jamaicans claim rum punch as their own. It is said to have originated at a time when rum was cheap but tasted hard, so it needed the help of the two other locally-grown ingredients—sugar and lime.
Nevertheless, wherever its inception may have been, the drink’s core remains the same everywhere—a combination of sweet, sour, spicy, water and the choice of rum. But when you are hosting a gathering and want to make your own customised rum punch, here are a few steps to follow.
Choosing the Rum
DIY rum punch can be customised to specific liking—a teaspoon of cinnamon here and a spoonful of simple syrup there. However, deciding the base of your drink is paramount.
While light or white rum has a crisp and clean taste, dark and aged rum has a robustness that can be coupled with spices like cinnamon sticks and dried oranges. Gold rum is somewhere in the middle and has a more sweet, caramel note to it than its other counterpart. Spiced rum, on the other hand, is flavoured with nutmeg, cinnamon or vanilla.
In order to create a signature blend, two kinds of rum can be mixed in different proportions like gold and dark rum—to give the drink a balance of sweetness and smokiness.
Taste Profile
Citrus is one of the main flavour profiles in a rum punch. While lime juice is a common mixer, it can even be substituted with any tart fruits like grapefruit, pineapple or orange juice.
You can even try pomegranate juice, cranberry juice or green apple juice which have a milder sourness and lend the tangy tinge to your drink without overpowering the other flavours.
For a higher sour profile, amla and tamarind pulp are other ingredients that can be sparingly used to make your beverages even more piquant.
Spicing It Up
Besides the punch ingredients of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and mint, you can also spice up your version of the rum punch with cloves, star anise, black pepper, saffron or star anise.
Cloves have an aromatic spiciness that can be paired with darker rums, much like star anise, which also has a sweet spiciness. Cardamom and bay leaves have a milder taste, which can be paired for sweeter rum cocktails.
Similarly, saffron has a delicate floral aroma that adds a soft golden hue to the punch. Rosemary, often used in savoury foods, has a signature woody undertone that sits with flavours like citrus and rum.
Round Off With Sweet
Simple syrup and agave are traditional choices for sweeteners, but they can also be substituted with maple syrup or honey. Both maple syrup and honey have a smokey, caramel note that simple syrup just does not replicate.
Even jaggery’s earthiness and nuttiness can complement the robust dark rum.
Date syrup imparts a natural, fruity sweetness with a flavour that is similar to molasses.
It works especially well in combination with dried fruits and whole spices.
Do remember that like everything, alcohol is best consumed in moderation. Always drink and serve responsibly!
