Tag: Cocktail Recipe

One part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, four parts weak

Discovering the world of rum drinks led to exploring rhum agricole and the origins of ‘punch'.

Summer was winding down, and I found myself lost in the world of rum drinks. That led to some serious thinking about which rums to pick, and then I was off, diving into blog after blog about rhum agricole and... well, you know how it goes, down a Wikipedia rabbit hole!

Ever wonder why it's called 'punch'? It comes from the Sanskrit word 'pañca,' meaning 'five'. That's for the five key ingredients: rum, sugar, lemon or lime, water, and some tea or spices. And since sugar cane and rum started in India, it all makes sense. But by the 17th century, rum from the West Indies was the go-to crowd-pleaser.

One part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, four parts weak.
A dash of bitters and a sprinkle of spice, serve well chilled with plenty of ice.

That's a clever Caribbean rhyme to help hosts whip up some rum punch. Let's get the party started!

  • One of Sour (citrus like lemon or lime) - e.g. 0.5 fluid oz
  • Two of Sweet (syrup, agave, or honey) - e.g. 1 fluid oz
  • Three of Strong (full-bodied rum) - e.g. 1.5 fluid oz
  • Four of Weak (water or club soda in a 4:1 ratio) - e.g. 2 fluid oz

Serve chilled with ice, and add a touch of Angostura bitters for an aromatic flourish. Optionally, you can enhance the punch with a sprinkle of spice like nutmeg, star anise, or cinnamon.

Sourland Mountain Spirits Gin and Blueberry Basil Fizz Cocktail

Blueberry and Basil Gin Fizz. A cocktail recipe using Sourland Mountain Gin, fresh New Jersey blueberries, and basil from my garden.

I like Sourland Mountain Spirits. I took a tour of the distillery shortly after opening to the public and I was impressed by the distiller's expertise and attention to quality. I uploaded photos from the even back in March but never got around to writing a blog post about it. With this post, I have repurposed those photos.

I love blueberries. I like eating them a handful at a time. For me, it’s the best low-glycemic-index snack. My daughter loves them too. She eats them by the carton. I recently learned that the blueberry is New Jersey’s state fruit. I thought that was cranberries. Scratched head. I'm sure I can find a recipe for gin and cranberry juice.

Soutland Mountain Spirits Gin, Inaugural Batch | 11 March, 2017 | Nikon D5100 | 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6

Sourland Mountain Spirits recently posted a recipe for a Blueberry Basil Gin Fizz on Facebook and I wanted to try it. I bought fresh blueberries from Von Thun Farms at the Montgomery Friends of Open Space Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and used fresh basil from my garden planter. I bought two cartons of blueberries. One for me and one for my daughter.

I combined the fish lime juice, simple syrup, blueberries and basil in a shaker and muddle the ingredients. That’s a fancy cocktail word for “mix up.” I think doing the muddling in a shallow bowl might be easier than doing it in the shaker. I think I’ll try that next time. After you’ve given your wrist some exercise, add the gin and ice to the shaker. Shake, shake, shake Senora1 and strain into a glass with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf or not. Sip. Relax. Enjoy.

Sourland Mountain Spirits Gin and Blueberry Basil Fizz Cocktail

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

I love blueberries.


Ingredients

Directions


I combined the fish lime juice, simple syrup, blueberries and basil in a shaker and muddle the ingredients. That’s a fancy cocktail word for “mix up.” I think doing the muddling in a shallow bowl might be easier than doing it in the shaker. I think I’ll try that next time. After you’ve given your wrist some exercise, add the gin and ice to the shaker. Shake, shake, shake Senora[^1] and strain into a glass with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf or not. Sip. Relax. Enjoy.

  1. I couldn’t help myself but I think Harry Belafonte prefers rum. ↩