Wednesday, July 15, 2009

'ti punch

2 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc
1/2 oz Sugar Cane Syrup (Clement Sirop de Canne)
Large Lime Wedge (Ideally 50/50 ratio of pulp to zest)

In a rocks glass, squeeze lime slice and pour syrup over the lime. Add rum and use a wood swizzle (a Bois Lélé) or bar spoon to stir. Add 1 tbsp of ice, stir, and serve.

We had the 'Ti Punch twice -- once on Wednesday at the Rhum Agricole tasting room and once on Thursday at the Sugar Cane Spirits seminar. 'Ti Punch is the unofficial national cocktail of Martinique. While the word "'Ti" is an abbreviation of the Creole word for petite, the drink weighs in pretty heavy with a large swig of rhum that is only slightly diluted in the end product. It is one of the best showcases for the spirit since the lime and sugar do not detract from rhum agricole's vegetal and fruit aromas. The one I had on Wednesday was made with JM Rhum and I opted for no ice which made the bartender on the right quite pleased. A bit of hogo (sort of rubbery notes which I greatly enjoy when in moderation) from the rhum with a hint of lime and sweetness to balance the burn of the 100 proof spirit. The one I had at the seminar was made with Rhum Clement and it was more tasty than the first one. No clue whether it was the rhum or the fact that the small amount of ice made the drink more palatable. Since I love Rhum JM, I am guessing that it was the latter.

4 comments:

Matt Robold (RumDood) said...

I've never been a fan of the lime wheel, but rather the approach Ed Hamilton taught me.

I slice a lime into wedges and then slice the majority of the meet out of them so that you have peel with a very thin bit of lime meat left on it.

I discard the bigger bits of meat and then do a quick squeeze of the lime peels into the glass and drop them in, sometimes crushing them with a barspoon.

Either way, this is one of my absolute favorite drinks.

frederic said...

The directions on the card do say "Ideally a 50/50 ratio of pulp to zest". I will update the write-up accordingly. Thanks Matt!

Observational Gastrophysicist said...

did they really bring in miniature swizzle sticks just for this drink...?

frederic said...

They brought them in for the rhum agricole tasting room and the sugar cane spirits seminar. I ended up with a pair. They're kind of cute and would work for a rocks glass drink but not so much for a tall swizzle.