The art of Ti-Punch, by Laurent Danigo

Not to be confused with punch, ti-punch is a preparation that has its origins in the French West Indies. Its history is closely linked to that of sugarcane exploited in the Caribbean from the 17th century.

More than a cocktail, an art of living

In the West Indies, ti-punch is more than a traditional drink. Indeed, once often criticized or considered a poor quality drink, it has become a cultural element to the point that a shape of glass is dedicated to it. March 16th has for some years become International Ti-Punch Day, also called Ti-Punch Day.

Distilleries compete in know-how and techniques to create white rums ideal for ti-punch, and have become aware of the international and sustainable establishment of this mode of consumption of agricole white rum.

Still a little patience before the international Ti-punch day:

Days

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Minutes

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Ingredients

The ti-punch recipe couldn't be simpler and only requires three ingredients. However, it is rarely done well because it is poorly understood and often made with bad products.

- The sugar to choose is brown sugar from sugarcane or liquid cane syrup. A teaspoon is enough.

- For the lemon, you will need an untreated and well-washed lime. You need to extract a cheek from the lemon or ideally a zest. There must be the least amount of lemon juice in your glass. The idea is to extract the essential oils contained in the skin of the lime to sublimate your rum.

- The agricole rum from the French West Indies is to be chosen according to your tastes. We are lucky to have excellent white rums.

Recipe

In order :

- A ti-punch glass, ideally a flat-bottomed glass of 15 to 20 cl old fashioned type

- A teaspoon of brown sugar or half a centiliter of liquid cane syrup

- A zest or a cheek of lime. Squeeze the zest lightly into the glass

- 5cl of agricole white rum at 50 or 55 %

- We lightly stir with a teaspoon or a “bois-lélé” and we taste.

Variants

In Guadeloupe, I have often tasted it with peyi jams, such as Malacca or Surelle jam. We are dealing with very thick syrups with pieces of fruit. The goal is to replace the sugar with a fruit. Once the ti-punch is finished, you can pour yourself more rum directly to clean the glass or eat the fruit to signify that you are finished!

You can also find high degree white rums, traditionally at Marie Galante with rum at 59°. We find them today in many distilleries and they often make an excellent ti- punch. But be careful, to taste with a lot of moderation!

In Martinique, we often taste the ti-vieux which has also developed in mainland France. The white rum is replaced by an old agricole rum which will bring woody notes and often a lower alcohol content.