This is made with honey and ginger—a true tangent from the original rum punches, but quite lovely!
Rum Punch
Serves 20 (in a 10-ounce rocks glass, filled halfway with ice)
4 cups water
2 cups honey
1 cup water
8 inches fresh ginger, cut into 1-inch pieces (not peeled)
3 cups lime juice
2 cups orange juice
5 cups white rum
2 limes, sliced
1 small jar maraschino cherries
Make a honey simple syrup:
In a Vitamix or a blender, whiz up one cup water, two cups honey, and the chopped ginger until ginger is minced. (Don’t put the setting on high, because it will overflow.)
In a small saucepan, add the mix from the blender to 3 cups more water and bring to a boil.
Over medium heat, simmer and stir for 5 minutes until the mixture begins to rumble to a good boil.
Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing ginger with the back of a spoon to the sieve to obtain all the flavor possible.
Transfer ginger mix into a gallon jug using a funnel.
Make the punch:
Stir in 3 cups lime juice, 2 cups orange juice, and 5 cups rum.
Refrigerate until serving.
Toss lime wedges into a serving pitcher, fill with the punch, and keep ice on the side for guests to add to individual rocks glasses.
To make this look like the cheap Caribbean version of rum punch, add a small jar of maraschino cherries to the pitcher. This won’t make the drink taste better, but it will transport you to aqua waters and cool beach drinks!
Purchase the Lark Cocktails book for dozens more great recipes! #livinglark
