Barbados Rum Punch (Bajan)

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Authentic Caribbean rum punch: We traveled to Barbados in February 2022 and fell in love with the rum punch served by our boat crew during a fabulous snorkeling, lunch and cocktail trip with Silver Moon Catamaran Cruises. They were kind enough to share the recipe, and after a little research, I can confirm that this is the authentic Barbados rum punch recipe.

Allows the rum to shine: Some rum punches include multiple kinds of fruit juice, and while they are delicious, those extra sweet flavors tend to mask the nuanced flavor of the rum. This is a rum-forward punch with refreshing citrusy notes and the perfect level of sweetness.

Simple ingredients: We don’t need any fancy syrups or cocktail ingredients. Everything we need is readily available at the liquor store or grocery store.

Perfect for home bartenders of all skill levels: If you can stir, you can make this rum cocktail. Plus, it’s great for making ahead of time for easy entertaining.

Related: For more tropical drinks, try my Painkiller cocktail and coconut margarita.

Ingredients

Barbados rum: Naturally, we start with a dark rum from Barbados. In Barbados, you’ll find four different rum distilleries: Mount Gay Distilleries, West Indies Rum Distillery, Foursquare Rum Distillery and St. Nicholas Abbey. Plantation Rum, which is widely available in the U.S., also distills rum at the West Indies location.

Lime juice: Please do not use bottled juice – fresh-squeezed lime juice only. We are working with so few ingredients, so quality matters. Bottled juice is much more muted in flavor.

Simple syrup: While store-bought simple syrup is available, I prefer to make my own. Not only is it significantly cheaper, but I think it tastes better and doesn’t contain any weird ingredients.

Just bring 1 cup water and 1 cup white sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve, and you have your simple syrup. As long as you store it in a sterile, airtight container in the refrigerator, it should last for about a month. You’ll know it’s time to make a new batch when the syrup turns cloudy.

Bitters: The classic angostura bitters are standard here. But feel free to add your own favorite variety. I imagine orange bitters or clove bitters would be lovely.

Nutmeg: This favorite Caribbean spice is our garnish, and we add it directly on top of the drink. It adds the perfect touch of spice and fragrance. While garnishes are typically optional, I don’t recommend skipping this for an authentic rum punch.

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you can believe it, making this Bajan rum punch only takes three easy steps. Let’s review.

Step 1: We grab a large pitcher and pour in the Barbados rum, water, lime juice and simple syrup as well as add a few dashes of bitters (photo 1).

Step 2: Now we grab a large spoon and stir together the ingredients like so (photo 2).

Step 3: For our final step, we pour the punch into a glass with plenty of ice and directly grate the nutmeg on top of the drink (photo 3). If you'd like, you're more than welcome to also garnish this drink with pieces of tropical fruit or orange slices, though that's completely optional.

And that’s it! How easy was that? Now you have the most delicious Caribbean rum punch. Sip, close your eyes and pretend you’re living the dream on the beach.

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

Ground your own nutmeg: You can purchase ground nutmeg, but freshly grating your own adds way more flavor and fragrance. Simply run a whole nutmeg along a microplane grater or the small holes on a standard cheese grater.

Use a citrus juicer: To get more juice from your limes, firmly roll them on the countertop a few times under the palm of your hand and then use a citrus juicer to extract. A handheld citrus juicer works just fine here – you don’t need anything fancy.

Easily customize your servings: The recipe lists proportions for both a single serving in ounces and an eight-serving pitcher in cups. Single cocktails are measured in ounces, but it’s much easier to use cups for batching drinks. If you need to customize the proportions for another serving size, we can easily apply the following formula to the individual proportions.

Take the number of ounces of each ingredient and multiple it by the number of servings. Then, divide it by eight to get the cup measurement.

Perfect Pairing

Naturally, we need some good island food with this Caribbean rum punch, so let’s enjoy some of my jerk chicken and jerk pork. Yes, I realize jerk marinade is from Jamaica rather than Barbados, but those spices work so well with the molasses of the dark rum. Besides, who doesn’t enjoy some jerk chicken when they’re looking for a taste of the Caribbean?

You could also try my jerk chicken enchiladas and jerk pork nachos for something a little different. And don’t forget to serve it with some of my mango-habanero salsa or tropical pico de gallo on the side.

Treat you and your guests to a refreshing, beachy cocktail with this authentic Barbados rum punch. It’s sure to be everyone’s new favorite summer party cocktail.

Cheers!

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