The 10 Best Caribbean Cocktails

The Caribbean has produced more cocktails than you could shake a swizzle stick at. And at the heart of every one is rum – white, golden or dark, sometimes even spiced - which has been the spirit of the islands ever since the first sugar cane was planted in the 1500s. Rum fires up the fetes (the parties), gets writers and revolutionaries going, and of course, it gives West Indians their energy for dancing. Here are the ten best Caribbean cocktails; best served chilled, in a beach bar, with a view of the sunset…

1. The Classic Rum Punch

The essential Caribbean drink with the essential Caribbean ingredients. The traditional rhyme to create a rum punch runs –

‘One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong and four of weak’.

That’s 1 part lime, 2 of cane syrup, 3 of rum, which can be light or dark, and 4 of water or more usually a juice; try orange or a mix of orange and another fruit - every Caribbean family has its own variation.

2. Ti’ ponch

Ti’ ponch, or Petit Ponch, from the French Caribbean, is drunk as an aperitif, and as anything culinary in the French world, it has a ritual all of its own. Ladle some soft brown sugar into a miniature Duralex glass (those six-sided icons of the 20th Century kitchen table), steep it with white rum and then squeeze a section of lime over it, crushing it within a micron of destruction. Aficionados swill it all around the glass and knock it back in one, to get the gastric juices flowing, but you can just as easily savour it.

3. Planter’s Punch

A Planter’s punch is another classic, like a rum punch but often with additional fruit juice. Take 3 parts dark rum with 1 of sugar-syrup and mix with 4 parts of orange and pineapple juice. Shake onto ice and garnish with fruit. The key final ingredient here is nutmeg, a spice grown on a handful of Caribbean islands, particularly on Grenada, which is grated and sprinkled on top.

The Cuban revolution was big news in 1959, and in celebration the revolutionaries created their own drink, the Cuba Libre (Free Cuba)

4. Cuba Libre

The Cuba Libre is a variant of rum and Coke that originated in the Spanish-American war in 1898, some of which took place in the Caribbean. It is made with 1 part local, generally white, rum and 2 of local Cuban ‘Cola’ (Coca Cola is of course the stuff of imperialist lackeys from the States). Some people dash their drink with lime.

Hard-drinking Ernest Hemingway was in Cuba shortly after the Revolution. As he caroused Havana he was heard to say -

‘My mojito in La Bodeguita…’ (A bodeguita is a small local store that serves beer and rum drinks.)

5. Mojito

Another essential Caribbean drink, with sugar, lime and rum, but this time with the addition of local Caribbean mint. You stir the sugar, lime juice and mint, pour on rum and soda water to taste. Usually a garnish of mint is added.

‘… And my Daiquiri in El Floridita… ’ El Floridita, in central Havana, was a smart restaurant and still operates with its same décor of sumptuous red, white and black décor and a long lacquered wooden bar.

6. Daiquri

The original daiquiri had a simple recipe - light rum, cane juice and lime or another citrus in equal parts. Nowadays they don’t hold back and every sort of fruit is added to create a new taste – mango, coconut, even strawberry, even chilli.

In Puerto Rico, another Latin island not far away, but Cuba’s polar political opposite (it ended up as a Commonwealth of the USA in 1898), another famous Caribbean drink was created in the equally lovely atmospheric city of Old San Juan.

7. Pina Colada

A pina colada is made with 3 of parts white rum, 2 of pineapple (juice ‘strained’, as in ‘colada’) and 2 parts of cream of coconut. Add ice and blend. The coconut milk and juice create a foamy suspension as white as driven Arctic snow, but it tastes truly tropical, fantastically milky and fruity.

More recent cocktails have been born on the beach…. And that is where they are best drunk of course, preferably in a beach bar, as the sun sets in the background.

8. Painkiller

Originally from the Soggy Dollar bar on Jost van Dyke (itself on White Bay, one of the Caribbean’s finest beaches), the Painkiller has now spread across the British Virgin Islands and beyond. Shake 2 parts of (local BVI) Pusser’s (dark) Rum and 4 parts of pineapple juice with 1 each of orange juice and cream of coconut. It come out as yellow as the sun. Again top it off with nutmeg.

9. The Killer Bee, Nevis

Born at Sunshine’s, a ramshackle beach bar on the tiny island of Nevis, the Killer Bee recipe is a secret, naturally. But try mixing 2 parts passion fruit juice and 2 parts golden rum with 1 part orange juice and soda, add honey, and top with nutmeg and pepper.

10. Bahama Mama, Bahamas

As the name suggests, the Bahama Mama hails from the Bahamas, but history is not precise about which Bahama Mama originated it. The recipe is assured though – mix orange, pineapple, grenadine and rum, and this time add coconut rum, or Malibu, as well. Blend with ice and serve with a view of uninterrupted blue water and sky to the sea horizon.