Hot Rum Punch

Here’s a Jamaica rum punch with arrack I’m working on—tasty but maybe in need of fine tuning. I used tea to heat it, which did the job within tolerance but could’ve been hotter going in.



Hot Rum Punch

• 1 1/2 oz Jamaica rum (Smith & Cross)
• 1/2 oz arrack (Batavia Arrack van Oosten)
• 1/2 oz lemon
• 1/4 oz rich simple syrup
• 4 oz strong black tea
• lemon peel
• about 15 allspice berries

Boil water to make tea and heat a mug. Pour boiling water over tea, the yellow part of the peel of a lemon and allspice berries. While tea is steeping (4-5) minutes), heat mug, then discard hot water. Combine spirits, lemon and syrup in mug. Strain tea into spirit mixture and stir briefly.
SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

I made the tea in an open vessel, and now see that I should’ve worked a little harder to keep the warmth in it. The spirits and stuff cooled it more than expected, though it was still quite drinkable. I’m also thinking I might’ve bruised the allspice berries a little too. But the housemate and I both enjoyed it. Well worth doing again. The Smith & Cross rum I used gave the right funk for the 18th-century feel of this.

Vanilla Whiskey Skin

Sounds oddly salacious, don’t it? Thanks to Nancy of The Backyard Bartender for hosting this Mixology Monday. Her theme is Some Like it Hot—“make anything you want to, so long as it’s hot.” OK—I’m feeling a little worn out from the recent adventure in New York so here’s an easy one. David Wondrich says a toddy with lemon peel is a skin. Vanilla syrup sounded soothing after reading about Tiare’s Vanilla Smash.



Vanilla Whiskey Skin

• 2 oz Rittenhouse rye (100 proof)
• 2 tsp vanilla syrup
• lemon peel
• 4 oz hot water

Combine in a heat-proof glass.
SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM BASIC WHISKEY SKIN, DAVID WONDRICH, IMBIBE!