Antigua Blue Devil’s Punch

Antigua Blue Devil PunchAntigua Blue Devil’s Punch
submitted by Alex Sadowsky

2 oz Aged Rum
2 oz Chunk of Pineapple
.5 oz Grenadine
.5 oz Lime Juice
1 tsp Demerara Sugar
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
2 oz Club Soda

Muddle pineapple, sugar, and rum until the pineapple is almost a puree.

Add lime, bitters, grenadine, and ice, and shake and strain into a tall glass over crushed ice.

Top with club soda and freshly grated nutmeg

Having already announced the winner of the first ever RumDood.com Rum Punch Giveaway, I figured it was time to discuss some of the other outstanding punches that were submitted.  The final decision of who won the competition came down to two punches, the Captain Parker’s Punch and this incredibly delectable entry from recent Culinary Institute graduate and Sous Chef, Alex Sadowsky of St. Paul, Minnesota.

The punch is named for the troupe that has been known to paint the town blue in Antigua during Carnival – The Antigua Blue Devils.  After a visit to the island during Carnival, Alex wanted to be able to share with friends and family what he had experienced on the island during his vacation and came up with the recipe you see here.

The punch has a very classic feel to it, with a nice bit of effervescence and the lovely touch of nutmeg (which made it into the winning punch as well).  This punch was so good, in fact, that I had it and Captain Parker’s Punch tied on my scoring sheet after two days of making punches.

I even went to lightning rounds of making both punches and sipping them at the same time to see if I could pick a favorite.  In the end I had to take both punches to a party and let the guests sort it out for me, which they did – by a single vote.

I used Mount Gay Extra Old for the rum, along with homemade grenadine and a single cube of demerara sugar which I crushed in my mixing tin before adding the other ingredients to be muddled.  I really, really, really enjoyed this punch a great deal – though I’m thinking I may need to try replacing the soda with sparkling wine like Cava – you know, in the interest of science.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • TasteStopping

    September 4, 2009, 01:54

    Hi rumdood,

    I left you a tweet earlier today, but just saw this post on TasteSpotting. I admire your dedication to the drudgery of judging rum punch! Plus, I learned that you can make your own grenadine, which is interesting in and of itself, but if my husband ever finds out…I’ll be lucky to get him to do anything else around the house. (He is our self-proclaimed resident mix-master.)

    Anyway, I’m also writing to invite you to check out my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will swing by.

    Best,
    Casey
    Editor
    http://www.tastestopping.wordpress.com

  • AK

    September 4, 2009, 15:07

    This sounds delicious. How did you scale it up for a punch bowl?

  • Matt Robold

    September 4, 2009, 18:08

    When I made it I just scaled up by replacing ounces with cups – although I cut the pineapple in half (down to one cup) when I made the full bowl. As long as you keep the ratios the same, you should be fine.

    Of course you can’t shake it, so you’ll want to stir in the bowl, but it works wonderfully.

  • Tiare

    September 4, 2009, 22:11

    Cool pic Matt! and garnish too! very KPish.

  • Mike

    September 8, 2009, 00:26

    Tried the Blue Devil’s Punch this weekend. Very nice. Thanks.

  • Paul

    September 8, 2009, 06:06

    Is that a rolled up note in that drink? Well pimped out fella!!

  • Matt Robold

    September 8, 2009, 07:06

    Actually it’s a bamboo straw. My brother gave me a box of straws made from bamboo for my birthday and this seemed like a good time to use it. 😉