HOW DO YOU MAKE A . . .

The need to establish a deeply reflective relationship at water's edge has deposited me on many different shorelines over the years. Like a man in search for the right congregation, I’ve walked beaches from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, looking for my purpose and position in God’s grand scheme. Currently my favorite place of worship is the stretch of ocean and sand at Easton’s Beach in Newport, Rhode Island. Their morning services consist of long contemplative strolls, afternoons are toes in the tide baptism, and evenings are spent raising a cup to creation from the choir loft at Flo’s Clam Shack.

EASTON'S BEACH

Sadly, these waters in Narragansett Bay, like so much of our oceans, have been impacted by the misdeeds and miscalculations of mankind. As we embark on the celebration of a return to warmer days in our hemisphere, the staff at American Public House Review hoists a tropical chalice to those who work to preserve and protect our beaches, marine life and sacred seas.
In order to help you fill your tropical vessel with a suitable summertime libation, we will feature some classic surfside cocktails during the next few months. Our first offering is the basis of most modern day sunny clime drinks, the Planter’s Punch.
There is of course the usual amount of dispute and discourse about its origin. Some attribute the drink to a house recipe developed at the Planter’s Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina during the early 1800s. Other claim the drink was created in Jamaica to mark the 1879 opening of the Myers’s Rum distillery. And then there is the camp that states that we know nothing of its beginnings other than this curious poem that appeared in the August 8th, 1908 edition of The New York Times.

PLANTERS PUNCH

This recipe I give to thee,
Dear brother in the heat.
Take two of sour (lime let it be)
To one and a half of sweet,
Of Old Jamaica pour three strong,
And add four parts of weak.
Then mix and drink. I do no wrong —

Whatever the case may be, there seems to be as many recipes as there are opinions about the genesis of the Planter’s Punch. While all the variations call for some combination of rum and fruit juices, some also include sweet vermouth, brandy, grenadine, spices and bitters.

Here is one of my favorite formulations:

·    1 oz light rum
·    1 oz amber or dark rum
·    ½ oz grenadine
·    1 oz pineapple juice
·    2 oz of orange
·    2 oz of sour mix
·    dash of Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients over ice, and pour into a tall glass.

Garnish with the tropical fruit of choice.