Rum Punch

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (145 ratings)
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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.

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
4th January 2024 at 03:23
Brilliant, thanks Simon.
1
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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
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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
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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
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