Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial beginning of the celebratory feel of summer. If you are looking for a good libation that is juicy, fruity, sweet, sparkly--in short, everything that summer really is, check out this recipe for Rum Punch.
And while your sipping, please raise a toast to Kamla Persad-Bissessar the first Female Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago! Here's to you Madame Prime Minister!!
Trinidad Rum Punch
20 (4-ounce) servings
Rum punch is a standard party libation, and in 2004, Angostura, the bottlers of the famous bitters and a major rum manufacturer, began bottling various versions for mass distribution. Convenient though this may be, a rum punch recipe is a family tradition and I doubt many folks will abandon theirs. Here is mine.
1 small mango, peeled and chopped, or 1 cup frozen ripe mango, thawed
1 cup sliced fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks
1 (4-ounce) can mandarin orange slices with juice
1/4 cup maraschino cherries
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/4 teaspoon mixed essence
2 teaspoons Angostura bitters
1/2 pint dark rum (such as Old Oak or Myer’s), chilled
2 cups tropical fruit juice (such as Welch’s Tropical Passion Juice from concentrate)
1/2 pint coconut rum, chilled
1 liter ginger ale, chilled
2 cups sparkling white wine (such as Freixenet), chilled
1 navel orange, unpeeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
1 star fruit, sliced horizontally (1/4 inch thick)
1. In a large punch bowl, combine the mango, strawberries, pineapple chunks, mandarin orange slices with their juice, and maraschino cherries. Add the coconut extract, mixed essence, Angostura bitters, and rum. Place the bowl in the refrigerator or set over crushed ice, and allow the fruit to macerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
2. Stir the tropical fruit juice into the fruit mixture. Gently pour in the ginger ale and sparkling wine so as not to lose too much carbonation. Float the orange slices and star fruit slices on top. Serve over crushed ice.
