The History of Rum

Barbados has been producing high-quality rum for hundreds of years. It is the island’s signature spirit, with the world-renowned Mount Gay being the oldest rum, distilled here since 1703. Historically molasses were fermented to produce alcohol, which would then be distilled and served. Thankfully the methods have evolved a lot since then, and the likes of Mount Gay and many others are by far the smoothest and finest rums available.

You can drink the local Rum neat, but as most of us do not have the sophisticated palette of a Rummelier many would argue that Rum tastes even better in cocktails – hence, the ‘Rum Punch’ was born.

Punch was cultivated via the trade routes of the British East India Company and when England had sailed west to discover sugar cane in the Caribbean Isles. The classic drink is one of the earliest cocktails, dating back to the 17th century. Traditionally including a spirit, citrus, spice, sugar and water,

Punch now offers the Mixologist and creative drinker alike an extensive base for experimentation. Each establishment has their own signature mixture combination of this fruity cocktail. The Rum Punch cocktail recipe always consists of rum (light, dark, or coconut), however, Bartenders today add their own Caribbean twist by substituting the traditional ingredients; adding fruit juice such as pineapple, orange, lemon or lime juice, and grenadine for colour.

You’ll hear many Bajan’s repeat what has become a national rhyme:

“One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak”

This is one of the oldest iterations of the Rum Punch recipe. I have detailed the traditional ingredients used to produce this legendary Barbadian Rum Punch, so why not have a go at creating your own.

Our Top 10 Spots for a Rum Punch

We have tried and tested many Rum Punches around the island, just for you! Drinking cocktails so sweet they would make our taste buds ache. So let’s see who’s rum punch is punching above our rigorous test standards?

Drum roll please…

Our Favourite Ready-Mixed Rum Punch (by the bottle)

In my search for the island’s most flavoursome rum punch I just had to sample Mike’s Fresh Rum Punch, as his fun, quirky branding (positioned all around the island) was calling me!

I sent Mike a message on WhatsApp (a typical channel for business contact on the island) and he responded immediately and furthermore, was able to deliver to my home on the same day. I was surprised to see Mike himself standing beside his heavily branded car, holding up two bottles of his freshly prepared Rum Punch teamed with spices for me to sample.

Mike recommended that we kept the bottles in the freezer due to the fresh citrus juices that had been included within the mix, to give you the ultimate experience. Here are the directions for your home-mix…

For us this was the perfect balance of rum to punch, but you can always adapt Mike’s Fresh Rum Punch to your palette. By adding some soda water to dilute the mixture if too strong, and varying the amount of grated nutmeg that you garnish your cocktail with. We love spice, so like to sprinkle some chilli flakes to the punch to give it a fiery kick – not for the faint-hearted!

This was the most delicious concoction of authentic Caribbean flavours, paying homage to the traditional recipe, thus packing the most perfect punch for us. With its vivid orange tones mimicking the sky at sundown, it was a sunset in a glass. I just love the fact that we can enjoy Mike’s delicious, thirst-quenching rum punch on our balcony, beside the pool or take a frozen bottle along to our local beach – as there is minimal preparation.

The rum punch that you are served at bars, can be lethal dependent on the barman, so with Mike’s rum you can enjoy a few drinks without worrying you might not get back up! Thank you Mike, for sharing your old family recipe, passed down from generations with us – its been a privilege!

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