Caribbean Connection

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CARIBBEAN CONNECTION ALEXANDER BRITELL

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A pair of ti’ punch cocktails on Banana Bottom Beach in Martinique.

The Joy of the Ti’ Punch, the Ultimate Caribbean Rum Cocktail

It’s the purest expression of sugarcane in spirit form: rhum blanc, or white rhum agricole. Unaged white rum made from pure pressed sugar cane juice is as close as you can come to the cane: a raw, visceral, complex spirit that has a real terroir. And it just so happens that this is the primary ingredient in the Caribbean’s ultimate rum cocktail: the ti’ punch.

Ti’ punch, short for petit punch, is the essential drink of the French West Indies, a local, easy-to-prepare drink that’s part of the ritual of daily life in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

It’s ubiquitous, o en accompanied by those endlessly delicious cod sh fritters called Accras. And it’s a key to immersing yourself in the culture of the French Caribbean.

You cannot begin to understand this enchanting part of the Caribbean without a ti’ punch, a drink whose preparation requires a ceremony on par with tea in Japan.

And it’s deliciously simple to make.

Because while there are myriad dressedup versions of making the ti’ punch, there’s one truly authentic way to make it — the way people actually drink it at a bar or restaurant in the FWI.

Show up at a beach bar or a cafe (or just about any restaurant at all) in Martinique and Guadeloupe, order a ti’ punch (it’s o en cheaper than a bottle of water), and you’ll soon be welcomed with a tray. ere you’ll nd three things: a bottle of white rhum, some quarter slices of lime, and a ramequin of brown sugar.

Because white rhum is so a ordable, the restaurant will leave it to you how much white rhum you decide to put in the glass, joined with just the quarter lime and, ideally, a teaspoon of sugar.

How much rum you add is up to you, but I like to pour enough that the rum levels right above the top of the lime.

Most importantly, there is no ice in this drink. Ice will rob you of the delicacy, the complexity and the nuance of the cocktail.

I wouldn’t even recommend squeezing the sliver of lime; wayward ti’ punches you might nd in places (typically in Saint Martin) far overdo the lime, stu ng the glass with multiple, squeezed lime slices and ooding the drink with abundant, obnoxious citrus.

While sugarcane syrup has become popular in lieu of sugar, for me, syrup can be too sweet, and corrupt the balance of the three ingredients.

Indeed, this is a delicate cocktail, a dance of three players. A small amount of patience is required to give the rhum (best between 50 and 60 degrees), the sugar and the lime time to harmonize.

And that’s when the drink hits you, when it all makes sense, when you realize just how wonderful a cocktail this is.

I call it the moment du punch, that instant when the avors of the rhum and the sugar

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and the lime come together and become something far greater than the sum of their parts, when a ti’ punch really becomes a ti’ punch. at’s always when a neophyte taking his or her rst ti’ punch becomes a ti’ punch partisan and, soon, begins the journey down the rabbit hole of rhum agricole.

Now, you might have had a daiquiri or a caipirinha, two cocktails with largely identical ingredients. Both are ne cocktails.

But without the dimensionality of the rhum agricole, without the right proportions of lime and sugar (or with unnecessary ice), you have a very di erent, far less interesting experience. ere’s nothing like this drink in the Caribbean, something so perfect, so simple and, most importantly, so local.

If you drink this in Martinique or Guadeloupe, it’s a drink all of whose ingredients are from Martinique or Guadeloupe — the rhum, the limes and the sugar are all made there.

If you’re in the United States, the best rhum blanc options are Rhum JM and Rhum Clement, the most widely available agricoles in America, although you can nd HSE, Neisson and La Favorite in certain ne spirits shops in the US.

For this year’s National Rum Day, the ti’ punch I prepared was not quite as local as that (limes and brown sugar from, well, not the French Caribbean), but it was splendid, made with one of the most celebrated white rhums of all time, the HSE Parcellaire 2016. at rhum is a great example of what makes the rums of the French Caribbean so di erent.

Parcellaire means the rhum was made exclusively from sugar cane grown from just a tiny corner, or parcel, of the sugarcane plantation in Martinique. It’s the terroir of a single corner of a cane eld. is kind of thoughtful devotion to rhum you nd in that part of the Caribbean, is where this cocktail is part of the soul of the French West Indies.

And when you reach the moment du punch, it all begins to make sense.

Best enjoyed on a beach in Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Martin or St Barth. THE TI’ PUNCH Ingredients 1.5 oz Rhum Agricole 0.25 oz Sugar cane syrup 1 lime disc Instructions Add Rhum and sugar cane syrup into a glass and stir them well. Press the lime disc with your nger and thumb and drop the disc into the drink. Optional: Add ice and stir once again before drinking.

Publishers Note: We are happy to partner with Alexander Britell, Founder and Editor in Chief of the Miami, Florida based Caribbean Journal and his sta contributing to the OTC and our Caribbean Connection Section. Check out the popular online magazine/website at caribjournal.com for valuable information on all fabulous travel options and things of interest in the Caribbean. A ti’ punch tray at La Playa in Marie Galante.

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