Planter's Punch Pitcher with Scratch Grenadine and a Bitters Float

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The old rum-shop rhyme — one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak — scaled into a pitcher you can pour all afternoon. Funky aged Jamaican rum and a splash of overproof carry fresh lime and demerara syrup, while a homemade pomegranate grenadine sinks through the ice for that sunset fade and a slick of aromatic bitters goes on top so every sip starts with clove and cinnamon. Everything but the ice is made ahead, so you pour instead of shaking twelve drinks one at a time.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups 100% pomegranate juice, unsweetened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 wide strips orange zest, removed with a peeler
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional, for depth)
• 1/2 tsp orange blossom water (optional)
• 1 tsp vodka or overproof rum, to help it keep

• 1 cup demerara or turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup water

• 14 oz aged Jamaican pot-still rum (about 1 3/4 cups)
• 2 oz overproof dark rum
• 6 oz fresh lime juice (about 6 limes)
• 4 oz demerara syrup, from above
• 4 oz pomegranate grenadine, from above
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/2 tsp aromatic bitters, plus more for floating

• plenty of ice cubes, plus 1 large block or ice ring for the pitcher
• 1 cup chilled club soda (optional, for a longer drink)
• 2 limes, sliced into thin wheels
• 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks or spears
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 8 sprigs mint

Instructions

1. Make the grenadine: combine the pomegranate juice, sugar, and orange zest strips in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves and the liquid steams, about 4 minutes — do not let it boil hard or you will cook out the fresh fruit flavor. Simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes to thicken slightly, then take it off the heat.
2. Stir the pomegranate molasses and orange blossom water into the hot syrup, if using, and let it cool to room temperature, about 25 minutes. Fish out the zest, stir in the vodka, and refrigerate in a jar. You will have about 1 1/4 cups; it keeps 3 weeks chilled.
3. Make the demerara syrup: heat the demerara sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium, stirring, until fully dissolved and just barely simmering, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool completely. This is a rich 2:1 syrup, so it sweetens without watering down the punch.
4. Juice the limes and strain the juice through a fine sieve to catch pulp — about 6 oz. Fresh is non-negotiable here; bottled lime will taste flat against the funky rum.
5. Build the punch in a 2-quart pitcher: combine the aged Jamaican rum, overproof rum, lime juice, 4 oz demerara syrup, and 1 cup cold water. Add 1/2 tsp aromatic bitters and stir well. Taste — it should read tart and bracing, since the grenadine and melting ice will round it out. Adjust with a splash more syrup or lime as needed.
6. Chill the pitcher at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. Do not add ice yet; a pre-chilled punch dilutes far less once it hits the glass.
7. To serve, add a large ice block or ice ring to the pitcher along with the lime wheels and pineapple. Pour the 4 oz grenadine down the inside of the pitcher in a slow stream — it will settle low and streak upward as you pour.
8. Fill each tall glass with ice, pour in about 4 oz of punch, and top with a 1-oz splash of club soda if you want it longer and lighter. Float 2 or 3 dashes of aromatic bitters on the surface of each glass, grate nutmeg over the top, and add a mint sprig and a pineapple spear.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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