Niagara Food & Wine Expo ~ Barbados Rum Punch

Thank you to everyone who came out and stood in line to get a taste of Barbados.

We had an amazing time at the show and were thrilled that we got such a great response. As promised, I'm posting the recipe for the Rum Punch and the simple syrup I used to make it.

This is an easy drink to make in batches (it is meant to be a punch). Make it ahead, store in the fridge and pour over ice. This is a great patio drink to serve to guests all summer.

A traditional Rum Punch follows the basic formula;

One of sour
Two of sweet
Three of strong and
Four of weak.

The weak in the poem was meant to be water. In our recipe this weekend, we livened things up with the addition of fresh juice. And, when I say fresh, I mean I stood and squeezed and squeezed and squeezed, roughly a million limes and oranges, give or take. I had to do a late night run all over Niagara Falls to try to procure more limes because I was purchasing the limit from every store. It was insane but the people's thirst must be satisfied. The real point is, since we're using juice and water, the recipe needs to be balanced for sweetness, the bitters and a good diluting shake will help with this.

The first thing that must be done is to make the simple syrup.

This is a steeped syrup which means that after the sugar and water come to the boil, the ingredients are added and the heat is turned off. Much like making a cup of tea, the flavours will infuse as they sit in the warm liquid. Once the syrup is cool, it can be strained and stored in the fridge, all summer.

Basic baking spices.

Spiced Simple Syrup
1 C sugar
1 C water
2 cinnamon sticks (or 2 tsp)
6 whole cloves ( or 1/2 tsp ground)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground black pepper




Method
In a heavy bottom sauce pan, add sugar and water. Bring to the boil over medium heat. Add spices and remove from heat. Cover and steep until cool. Strain, discarding solids. Syrup will keep in fridge.





As I mentioned above, when it come to juice, fresh is best so you'll need whole limes and oranges, if you can get a good pineapple as well, go for it. However, here in Ontario a good pineapple is hard to get, so I use prepared juice. Be sure it is 100% juice with no added sugar. Tetra boxes like the ones used by Ceres, Sunrype, etc are much better than cans.

If you really want to recreate what we tasted this weekend, you'll want rum from Barbados. It was the Mount Gay Eclipse. As I discussed with many of you and talked about at the seminar, it is completely sourced, distilled, aged and blended on the beautiful island of Barbados. 

It's best served over ice for guests.
I was gettin' all fancy here.

Barbados Rum Punch
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz spiced simple syrup
1.5 oz Mount Gay Eclipse
1 oz fresh orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz water
2 drops Angostura bitters


Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker, fill 3/4 with cracked ice. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds, strain into an old fashioned glass filled with cracked ice. Garnish with fresh lime and orange peel.













If you're a weekly reader you may notice that the recipe is out of order, it's meant to reflect the Rum Punch poem and proportions above.


If you came out to see us last weekend, or you just love Rum Punch share your comments below.