Rum Punch R&D

[RickG]

Christine and I have been experimenting with rum punch to help us through the wait for our November trip. My last one was:

Goslings Black Seal Rum
1 part OJ
1 part Pineapple Juice
2 parts Papaya Nectar
Splash of Club Soda
Over ice

The Black Seal was too molassy, Mount Gay too vanilla. I guess I'll just have to buy some Cruzan Dark 2 year old to get just right. Only $12 per 750ml in Virginia.

We have our Dark & Stormy recipe perfected. 2 shots over ice in a tall glass with ginger beer on top. The D&G Ginger Beer from Jamaica is good, Goya Ginger Beer in a pinch, but the Barritts Ginger Beer from Bermuda is the best. I saw Barrits in Denver recently, but we cannot get it in the DC area. Soon come...

Cheers, RickG

[Xislandgirl]

Here is a link for you Rick!

http://www.barritts.com.futuresite.regi ... page2.html

[Thimbu]

This sounds quite intriguing......but what is ginger beer? Is it more along the lines of ginger ale or beer?

[RickG]

This sounds quite intriguing......but what is ginger beer? Is it more along the lines of ginger ale or beer?

Ginger Beer is non-alcoholic. Think of it as a more intense Ginger Ale. It's usually cloudy from the large amounts of fresh ginger, making it quite spicy. Yum!

Cheers, RickG

[Thimbu]

Thimbu wrote:
This sounds quite intriguing......but what is ginger beer? Is it more along the lines of ginger ale or beer?


Ginger Beer is non-alcoholic. Think of it as a more intense Ginger Ale. It's usually cloudy from the large amounts of fresh ginger, making it quite spicy. Yum!

Cheers, RickG


RickG,
Is ginger beer available in St Thomas or St. John? We are headed there in 7 days (yippee!) and that sounds super tasty!
Thimbu

[KWL]

Thimbu:
Ginger beer is available at Pine Peace Mini-mart on STJ.
Keith

[MLS]

Like a creole cook and his roux, for any rum punch that I make, there will always be lime, better yet key lime, better yet STJ key lime, bitters, simple sirop if I'm not adding sweet ingredients, and Cruzan Dark. With that base, the results always turn out tasty.

[RickG]

Ya, I like the bitters. I left out something important, fresh nutmeg!! I actually bring nutmegs and a grater when we visit STJ.

Back 6 or 7 years ago I stayed at Periwinkle on STJ. We had a couple of very productive key lime trees. I enjoyed using them for cooking and drinking. The key lime juice did very nicely on fresh grilled wahoo.

Cheers, Rick

[Xislandgirl]

I saw Ginger beer at Target. It is there own brand.

[MLS]

Rick, good catch on the nutmeg. I had meant to mention it also, after all how can you leave out an ingredient with possible hallucinogenic properties, but got caught up in the base of the drink not the crowning touch. I also bring a nutmeg grater with me-it is my favorite villa gift to leave.
But don't bother bringing nutmegs. They are one of the few STJ grown products you can always purchase (and bring home if you like). Nature's always has them as do other places.

[RickG]

Buying nutmegs on STJ? Pretty darn cool. I get them at and Indian Market for about $4 per pound. Though, the fresh ones still in the shell are pretty freaking awesome! The aroma is intoxicating. Another great ingredient is.... wait, that's over at Bomba Shack.

Cheers, RickG

[MLS]

I saved the mace from around the nutmeg, but never figured out what to do with it.

[RickG]

I use mace when making bratwurst and spice cake. I bet it would be awesome in pancake or waffle batter! Mace spiced banana pancakes with rum/coconut syrup...

[canucknyc]

Oh man that sounds good!