Another passion fruit inspiration from Jeff Berry's Potions of the Caribbean. Whereas yesterday's Siboney hailed from Trader Vic, today's offering is from Vic's legendary counterpart and chief competitor: Donn Beach, aka Don the Beachcomber.
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces Pontalba rum (a Louisiana rum that is long extinct; I used a 4-year old rum from Australia which I'd wager tastes nothing like the Louisiana rum, but it does have similar 'exotic' origin vibes)
- 1.5 ounces rhum agricole vieux
- 0.5 ounces falernum
- 0.5 ounces passion fruit syrup
- 0.5 ounces fresh lime juice
- 0.5 ounces simple syrup
Composition
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, fill with ice, and shake vigorously until the shaker is well chilled. Strain into your favorite glassware, stemware preferred.
Commentary
My immediate thought upon the first few sips of this cocktail was 'too sweet'. I was suspicious that would be the case when the recipe called for equal pours of three fairly sweet ingredients. There are two independent tweaks that could dial this cocktail in to suit my tastes: reduce the sugar or increase the lime. The simplest tweak would be to eliminate the simple syrup all together, tasting the cocktail before shaking and only adding simple syrup if required. As for the lime juice, my gut-feel is that a full ounce would be appropriate, but the safer approach is to start with three-quarters of an ounce, taste, and assess.
Despite the initial offering being too sweet, this cocktail has great potential. I particularly like the interplay between a rhum agricole and a molasses based rum combined with a controlled passion fruit influence. Perhaps the greatest aspect however is the cocktail's name. How can you not love a name like Puka-Puka Punch? That name has worm-holed its way into my brain such that I find myself randomly blurting it out as I meander through my day. Cheers my friends, may you find your inner-Puka.
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| Sweet Potential |
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