It’s Carnival time in New Orleans and this rum punch is perfect for sipping throughout the season. The revelry begins officially on Kings Day or Twelfth Night on January 6 and continues for weeks until Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras day. March 1 is Mardi Gras day, the end of the pre-Lenten season of raucous revelry and over indulgence. The season is filled with parade watching, bead catching, masked balls, and of course, cocktails!
Before beginning the Catholic tradition of giving up sweets and meat and other so-called vices for Lent, it’s time to raise a glass of rum punch one more time to toast Mardi Gras and the carnival season.
An island version of a rum punch is one of the many drinks of choice during the Mardi Gras season. It is fruity and citrusy and colorful just like the costumes of the Mardi Gras revelers.
There are many versions of rum punch throughout the Caribbean and in New Orleans…the Hurricane cocktail at Pat O Brien’s in New Orleans is the most well known, of course. Rum punch does not need to be a sweet red insipid concoction guaranteed to give you a headache.
Combining two kinds of rum, a dark rum like Myers Original Dark Rum and any white rum with the pineapple and orange juice creates a smooth easy drinking daytime cocktail.
Use the standard formula below from the islands or my variation and you will be pleasantly surprised.
1 of sour
2 of sweet
3 of strong
4 of weak
Happy Mardi Gras!
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