Hibiscus Rum Punch

Name: Hibiscus Rum Punch
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: Jamaican aged rum — 45 ml (1 1/2 oz); Hibiscus (sorrel) liqueur — 30 ml (1 oz); Lime juice (freshly squeezed) — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Brown sugar syrup — 10 ml (1/3 oz); Soda water — 60 ml (2 oz)

Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 12.5% ABV ∙

The Hibiscus Rum Punch is a highball of Jamaican aged rum, hibiscus (sorrel) liqueur, lime and brown sugar syrup, lengthened with soda water. Tart and fruity up front, it softens into a molasses-tinged warmth before the fizz lifts everything to a crisp, refreshing finish.

Ingredients

Servings

Garnish

Lime wheel

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-chill a glass
Shake the first 4 ingredients with ice: Jamaican aged rum 45 mlHibiscus (sorrel) liqueur 30 mlLime juice 15 mlBrown sugar syrup 10 ml
Pour Soda water 60 ml into the shaker before straining into the ice-filled glass
Garnish with a lime wheel
Note: Can be scaled up and served from a punch bowl or a large pitcher

Tips

Shake only the rum, hibiscus liqueur, lime, and syrup; the soda goes into the shaker just before straining, so pour it gently to keep the fizz.
Pre-chill the glass before pouring so the soda water does not go flat against warm glass.
Scaling up for a punch bowl or pitcher works well for this drink; keep the soda water separate and top individual servings to preserve carbonation.

History

Hibiscus Rum Punch was created at Smuggler's Cove, the tiki bar Martin Cate opened in San Francisco in 2009, and appears in the Smuggler's Cove cookbook he wrote with his wife Rebecca Cate, published in 2016. The drink is a riff on a Jamaican Christmas tradition of sorrel punch, made with a hibiscus-flavored liqueur the Cates formulated for the bar. It was originally listed on the menu as Sorrel Rum Punch, since hibiscus is called sorrel in the Caribbean, but customers did not recognize the term; renaming it Hibiscus Rum Punch reportedly tripled its sales.

The drink descends from Rum Punch, the broader family of Caribbean punches built on rum, citrus, sugar, and water (or spice) that trace back to sailors and traders of the 17th century, when British seafarers in the East Indies began mixing local spirits with citrus and sugar to make them palatable; the style later spread to the Caribbean, where rum became its base spirit. Hibiscus Rum Punch keeps that basic spirit-citrus-sugar structure but adds the hibiscus (sorrel) liqueur for its tart, floral character.