Don’t Throw Out Your Rhum Agricole! Make a Ti’ Punch Instead!

My first introduction to Rhum Agricole was from some bottles I inherited when a close friend of my wife’s passed away from a tragic accident. His family was from France, and when he passed, they moved back. But they couldn’t take everything with them, so his wife told mine that she could take all the food in the pantry (which we donated) and their small collection of booze which included a few bottles of Rhum Agricole.

At the time, I had very little education in or experience with rum. I knew I liked aged Caribbean rum as I had it several times at a local Cuban eatery. But other than that, I was totally ignorant of rum. So, when I received those bottles, which included a bottle of Clement Rhum Agricole VO, Habitation Sainte-Etienne, and a small bottle of Bardinet Rhum Negrita, which I found out is a blended rum, but classified as agricole.

The bottle of Clement was already opened so I poured some into a Glencairn glass to try it out. Fuck! I hated it! I was expecting caramel and vanilla, and what I got was grass, peas, and some lemon peel. I almost threw it out then and there, but instead put it down, took out my phone and did some research on rhum agricole.

Research done, I opened my mind to the fact that this was a completely different expression of rum. And the fact that it was distilled from cane juice really helped me change my mind because I love cachaça which has similar grassy and vegetal notes.

And then it hit me! While I normally don’t drink cachaça straight, except for viejo cachaça which is not too common (luckily I have some left from my trip to Brazil last year), I love it in a caipirinha. So, I looked up some cocktail recipes for rhum agricole and discovered the Ti’ Punch!

The Ti’ Punch cocktail is super simple: A generous slice of muddled lime, some cane syrup, and 2 ounce of Rhum Agricole. The preference is to use at least a 50% ABV, but hey! I used what I had on hand. What is great about this recipe is that it’s very similar to a caipirinha, except there’s a lot more lime in a caipirinha, and granulated sugar is generally used over cane syrup.

Here’s my take on it the Ti’ Punch:

2 oz. Rhum Agricole
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 oz simple syrup

Add all ingredients to a shaker. Add a generous scoop of ice, then shake for 30 seconds. Pour into a rocks glass. If you have it, garnish with a clapped mint sprig.

I was going to give my bottles away, but I have since started using them to make Ti’ Punch. It’s such a refreshing drink! I’m looking forward to making it for hot, summer days!