Here´s another interesting cocktail i stumbled upon, the Black River Punch.
This cocktail was at first an un-namd Planter´s Punch variant. The Planter´s Punch is as we know based on the old rhyme - 1 of sour, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong, 4 of weak…and with that formula you can make all kinds of variations.
The Black River Punch was created by Kevin Upthegrove aka Heylownine. I`m gonna serve it here and also try it with rhum agricole and switch the black tea for a ginger tea to see how that will do.
From the info i got – the name Black River Punch is inspired by the Jamaican influence in this drink from the Smith and Cross rum to the pimento dram.
The Black River runs through the Appleton Estate in the Saint Elizabeth parish and the capital of the parish – Black River was once a sugar port and exporter of rum and allspice. So i think the name is just about right, perfect actually.
Black River Punch
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz Demerara sugar syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (recipe from Beachbum Berry Remixed)
1/4 oz pimento dram (recipe from Beachbum Berry Remixed)
1 oz Smith and Cross Jamaican rum
1 oz Batavia Arrack
2 oz strong black tea
Gently shake with ice cubes, pour into tall glass. Add more ice to fill. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
I would describe this drink as strong, rummy and spicy.The strong black tea is also a nice addition adding a different spiciness than the pimento dram and the rums blending in creating layers of spice. NICE!
Now i wanted to make a twist of the drink as well and rhum agricole was the way to go..
Martinique owes its name to Colombus who landed on the island on 15 June 1502.
The island was then called “Jouanacaëra-Matinino”, which came from a mythical island described by the Tainos of Hispaniola. But according to historian Sydney Daney, the island was called “Jouanacaëra” by the Caribs, which would mean “the island of iguanas”.
After Columbus’ initial discovery, the name then evolved along the pronunciations Madinina (“Island of Flowers”), Madiana, and Matinite.
When Columbus returned to the island in 1502, he rechristened the island as Martinica. It finally, by influence of the neighboring island of Dominica (La Dominique), came to be known as Martinique.
So it was called the island of flowers…(Madinina) and that inspires both the name and the flower garnish of the drink and then we got the rum – it´s the island of flowers and rum…
Madinina Rum Punch
1 oz equal parts fresh lime and lemon
1 oz demerara syrup
0.5 oz falernum
3 oz aged rhum agricole
2 oz green ginger tea
0.5 oz St Germain
2 dash Bad Dog Fire and Damnation bitters
Shake and strain into a goblet with ice cubes and add a 0.5 oz float overproof dark rum (i used Plantation Original Dark overproof ) and garnish with a tropical flower.
This drink turned out to be what i would call a stiff strong rum punch – with that typical agricole flavor and it´s spicy…
It contains 3 oz rum plus 0.5 oz float overproof. It was tasty and went down easily…but i guess one is enough.
Enjoy!
