Our second round of classic cocktails from the shaker of veteran mixologist Salvatore Calabrese features two contrasting classics that are perfect for when friends and family are coming over.
By making up a jug of Planter's Punch and easily being able to dispense White Russians – the latter memorably featured in classic comedy film The Big Lebowski – you'll actually have time to let your hair down and enjoy yourself. And that's something we can raise a toast to!
Planter’s Punch
This drink was created in 1879 to celebrate the opening of Myers’s Rum Distillery in Jamaica. Gossip about the mixture created in Fred L. Myers’s honor spread across the island, and was tasted by just about everybody at Kelly’s Bar on Sugar Wharf. Visitors to the island took the recipe away with them.
By 1934 it had reached Esquire magazine’s best drinks listing and was established as a refreshingly mellow drink. Now, it has more texture and has also become sweeter. The key to its success is to use well-aged rum.
To make in bulk, multiply the ingredients by the number of guests.
- 1 2⁄3oz / 5cl Myers’s dark rum
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- 1⁄2oz / 1.5cl fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes gomme syrup
Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake. Strain into a wine glass with ice. Garnish with a slice of orange and a maraschino cherry and a sprig of fresh mint. Serve with a straw.
Planter’s Punch No. 2
This is a more interesting drink, longer and fruitier, full of texture and more flavors. It includes white as well as dark rum and lime, instead of lemon, juice.
- 2⁄3oz / 2cl Myers’s dark rum
- 1⁄3oz / 1cl white rum
- 1⁄3oz / 1cl Cointreau
- 1 2⁄3oz / 5cl pineapple juice
- 1 2⁄3oz / 5cl fresh orange juice
- 1⁄3oz / 1cl fresh lime juice
- 2 dashes grenadine
Pour all ingredients, except the dark rum, into a shaker with ice. Shake. Strain into a highball with ice. Carefully float the dark rum on top. Garnish with a slice of orange and a maraschino cherry. Serve with a straw.
If you want to make this in a punch bowl, add small wedges of pineapple without its skin and slices of lime, orange, and lemon. Add a few sprigs of mint on top of the bowl.
White Russian
The only difference between this and a Black Russian is the addition of cream.
- 1 1⁄3oz /4cl vodka
- 2⁄3oz / 2cl Kahlua
- 2⁄3oz / 2cl lightly whipped cream
Pour the vodka and the Kahlua into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Stir. Float the whipped cream over the top of the drink. Serve with a stirrer.
These recipes, and the other in this series, are taken from The Complete Home Bartender's Guide (Sterling Epicure), a revised and updated version of the invaluable book by award-winning mixologist Salvatore Calabrese, who's known as 'the Maestro' and has enjoyed a starry career spanning more than 40 years.
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