Ti' Punch
Rhum, lime, your way
Martinique's everyday ritual, stripped to essentials: grassy rhum agricole, a coin of lime, and a touch of cane syrup, served short with little or no ice. Bracing, funky, and entirely about the rum.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Rhum Agricole
- 1/4 oz Cane Syrup
- 1 coin Lime
Method
Add cane syrup and a lime coin to an old-fashioned glass. Muddle gently to release the lime oils. Add rhum agricole and stir. Add a single ice cube if desired.
National cocktail of Martinique and Guadeloupe. The earliest written mention appears in Lafcadio Hearn's _Two Years in the West Indies_ (1890), though the actual text does not explicitly document the drink by name. The modern ti-punch revival among American bartenders coincided with the rhum agricole resurgence. Per Difford's Guide #1952 and PUNCH magazine. Notes: Marketed as the Caribbean's equivalent to the Old-Fashioned; traditionally made with agricole rhum, cane syrup, and lime. Origin story (Hearn reference) relies on secondary attribution via Difford's and lacks independent verification in Hearn's primary text.
View source