Trevor 11 Jan 2011
7:35 pm

Thanks Robert, gonna have to try this one out for the next party!  Did he tell you how to mix up that rum old fashioned?  Wasn’t sure if it would be the same as a bourbon old fashioned, just with rum instead, or would certain ingredients differ?

Robert Hess 12 Jan 2011
7:01 am

Trevor, a “Rum Old Fashioned” is just as you might expect, an Old Fashioned made with Rum. The base recipe for an old fashioned should be considered as:

2 oz spirit
1 tsp sweetener
dash bitters

You can use any spirit, any sweetener, and any bitters (thankfully we now have a wide selelction to choose from!) of your choice. You can go very basic by just using simple syrup and angostura bitters, or you can use things like honey, agave syrup, molasses, Cointreau, Maraschino, etc. in order to add a little extra character.

-Robert

goblue72 13 Jan 2011
9:53 pm

Been slowly making my way through Wondrich’s book - setting the Charles Dicken’s punch aflame over the holidays was a hoot.  Will definitely be trying this one.  Looks like 2011 is shaping up to be “The Year Punch Broke”.

David R. 27 Jun 2011
2:10 am

Mr. Hess,

In the video, Chesterfield Brown empties the entire bottle of rum into the bowl, which I’m assuming is 750 mL. When converted to ounces, it comes out to a little more than 25. I’m planning on making this for our guests at my family’s Fourth of July gathering but am unsure of how much rum to use because the instructions listed call for 19 oz and not 25.

Robert Hess 27 Jun 2011
5:43 am

David,
The recipe we listed is what Chesterfield had provided to us, and looking through it, and comparing to what he does “on camera”, I see that there are a few places where it doesn’t quite match up.

If you want to try to duplicate the recipe as filmed, here is what you want to use:

26 oz rum
4 oz lime juice
1.5 oz grenadine
1 oz angostura
16 oz water
1 tsp nutmeg
16 oz simple syrup
sliced lemons and limes

I suspect, if you were to try both of these recipes, they would taste pretty much the same. You’ll recall we also discuss going “freestyle” with punches, where you sort of just add what you need to get the flavor about where you want it, much like making a soup. So feel free to taste the punch and adjust as necessary. Not too tart, not too sweet, and not too strong.

Michael "Michaelogist" Kelley 20 Sep 2011
7:05 am

Robert,

It appears that he adds 4 full Oxo “jiggers” worth of simple, which should translate to closer to 8oz, which would seem to be in better balance with the 4 oz of lime.  Thoughts?

Mike

Nick L. 14 Nov 2011
11:56 am

I noticed that too, Mike.  As he counts off the measurements, it seems like he’s counting off the tablespoons, not the ounces.  I agree with you that 8 ounces of simple syrup sounds like a better balance than 16.