Myrtle Bank Punch

Named for a hotel in Kingston, Jamaica, where a man named “slippery” stood behind the stick, this potent potable packs a palooka’s punch to the palate.  A touch harsh at first, but, like a lot of good tropical drinks, takes dilution well and ends up a well-balanced sweet, sour, and fairly significant drink.  With its high 151 content, it’s no wonder the bum named his version of the drink “Hell in the Pacific“.

Myrtle Bank Punch (source, Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, 1948)

• 1 1/2 ounces 151 Demerara Rum
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 6 dashes grenadine
• 1 tsp sugar
• float of Maraschino Liqueur

Mix rum, lime juice, and grenadine with sugar in mixing glass; shake with cracked ice; strain over cracked ice in 10 oz. glass.  Add float of maraschino liqueur and serve with straws.

The Maraschino Liqueur float lends its earthy, sweet and slightly oily nose to the drink, while the lime, grenadine and sugar lend the sweet and sour to the smoky and rich Demerara rum, a bit of swizzling before the float adds some sublime condensation on the side of the glass.   It’s a lovely drink, and tastes even sweeter with the spring sun standing overhead, evaporating the dismal grey that tends to linger over the great northwest.  Rum, warmth in winter, shade in summer, truly a blessed creation.