Rum Punch

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (144 ratings)
  • Rum Punch Image

    Rum Punch

  • Jump to
Rum Punch image

Serve in a Collins glass

Ingredients:
1 1⁄2 oz White overproof rum (unaged Jamaican/funky)
1⁄2 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
2 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 oz Chilled water
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Collins glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of skewered orange slice and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry (sail)..
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
  5. Garnish with skewered orange slice wheel and maraschino cherry (sail).

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 10/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 4/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile
Cocktail of the day:

6th August 2025 is Jamaican Independence Day

Review:

In Jamaica, the spiritual home of the Rum Punch, they like their rum overproof and many prefer this cocktail served over crushed ice to further dilute and tame this very strong spirit.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Planter's Punch

History:

The classic proportions of this drink are one of sour (lime juice), two of sweet (sugar syrup), three of strong (rum) and four of weak (water/juice/cold tea), a formula respected in our recipe.

See Punch history

Nutrition:

One serving of Rum Punch contains 204 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 13.98% alc./vol. (13.98° proof)
  • 21.1 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

Roman Punch Image
Previous cocktail

Roman Punch

Rum Punch-Up Image
Next cocktail

Rum Punch-Up

Join the discussion

Showing 10 of 13 comments for Rum Punch.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment
Robert Spain’s Avatar Robert Spain
25th April at 20:33
Wonderfully simple and delicious. Wray & Nephew it's amazing here, but I'm looking forward to try Rum Fire and other overproof rums in the near future.
1
reply
Patricio González-Careaga López-Tapia’s Avatar Patricio González-Careaga López-Tapia
6th December 2024 at 15:55
Amazingly Good, one of the best ever. Shouldnt it be fine strained after shaking with juice? Thanks for the incredible recipes.
1
reply
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
7th December 2024 at 15:51
Our pleasure! I don't tend to fine strain when straining over ice. (I always fine strain after shaking and serving straight-up.)
1
reply
Daniel Lewis’ Avatar Daniel Lewis
21st September 2024 at 21:02
Probably the best and one of the simplest cocktails of all time. Absolutely divine flavour, this takes you off to an evening on the beach where ever you are.
3
reply
Daniel Lewis’ Avatar Daniel Lewis
21st September 2024 at 21:05
Meant to add - you can shake the nuts off this and make it a tall drink and the rum still cuts thru
1
reply
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
17th August 2024 at 01:50
Used 2/3 White overproof Wray and Nephew and 1/3 Lemon Hart 151 Demerara. Wow. Big rum punch (no pun intended).
1
reply
Charlie Forbes’ Avatar Charlie Forbes
6th August 2024 at 21:38
So, effectively, a daiquiri w/ ango on the rocks...
1
reply
Matt’s Avatar Matt
24th July 2024 at 01:34
Fantastic - I used Wray & Nephew Navy Strength (one of my favorites) - this cocktail allows the highlights of the rum to shine while boosting the sweetness and a bit of citrus as well. Excellent cocktail - highly recommended!!
1
reply
Matt’s Avatar Matt
24th July 2024 at 03:14
Oops - I meant Smith & Cross Navy Strength, not Wray & Nephew - sorry for any confusion this may have caused.
2
reply
Peter McCarthy’s Avatar Peter McCarthy
2nd July 2024 at 23:17
Made this with 45 ml Wray & Nephew, 15 ml lime juice, 30 ml 2:1 sugar syrup, 24 drops Angostura, 60 ml chilled water. Very tasty. The lime, sugar, bitters, & water help soften the edges of the rum without taking center stage. Very flavorful. Seems like a great option for introducing someone to Wray & Nephew. Also seems great for a hot summer day!
1
reply
John Champion’s Avatar John Champion
19th December 2023 at 17:17
Finally gave this a shot after having it on my list for a while. I think the fact that it's diluted with so much water initially made me hesitant but I gotta say, this was fantastic. I upped the rum to 2 oz and added about 1/4 oz of allspice dram on my second pour and that was great, as well. It doesn't taste diluted it's just a refreshing long drink with a ton of flavor. My new go-to when I need to whip up something easy that still tastes great.
1
reply
Jordy Clasie’s Avatar Jordy Clasie
14th January 2022 at 18:35
Really nice, I like all the punch recipe's though. For me 2 dashes angostura is was too much for the wray & Nephew I used for te drink. Next time I will put 1 dash in.
1
reply
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
4th January 2024 at 03:23
Brilliant, thanks Simon.
1
reply
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
3rd January 2024 at 10:38
Replacing the screwtop on a bitters bottle with a Dartdash does expose the bitters to oxygenation and will accelerate the evaporation of alcohol. If using a bottle in a few months then not an issue. Otherwise, perhaps replace the screwcap between uses. (If you do use a Dartdash then use a knife to prise out the plastic dasher insert in the bottle.)
1
reply
Tom W’s Avatar Tom W
2nd August 2021 at 20:54
Would this work as well with a normal strength white rum or does this have to be overproof?
1
reply
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
3rd August 2021 at 07:07
You'd have to massively up the volume of the rum but it's not just the balance of alcohol to other ingredients, it's the flavour that overproof rum provides that makes the drink.
2
reply
advert banner
Roman Punch Image
Previous cocktail

Roman Punch

Spirited and refreshing with herbal notes

Rum Punch-Up Image
Next cocktail

Rum Punch-Up

Exactly what the name promises - a Rum Punch served straight-up, Daiquiri style

Rum Punch Image

Rum Punch

The 20th of September is Rum Punch Day and no drink deserves a dedicated day as much as this timeless classic
2 to 1 'rich' sugar syrup versus 1 to 1 'simple' syrup Image

2 to 1 'rich' sugar syrup versus 1 to 1 'simple' syrup

The balance between sweet and sour is crucial to the majority of cocktails and consistently producing balanced cocktails is made easier when using sugar...
Angostura & Angostura-style aromatic bitters Image

Angostura & Angostura-style aromatic bitters

Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, a German doctor, created Angostura Bitters to treat stomach disorders and indigestion in a military hospital in the town...
Some cocktails benefit from added water Image

Some cocktails benefit from added water

The size, and shape of the ice you use when mixing cocktails will affect the amount of dilution added when mixing. Large cubes in a cocktail shaker have...
20 best/most rated Martinis Image

20 best/most rated Martinis

There are 1,000s of cocktails with "Martini" in their name on Difford's Guide, and the majority are not actually true Martinis, at least going by the Oxford...
20 best Amaretto cocktails Image

20 best Amaretto cocktails

The bittersweet almond and vanilla flavour of amaretto mixes brilliantly with dark spirits – particularly whiskey but this versatile liqueur also mixes...