This is a classic drink of the Creole world. A bit of sugar, plus a few pieces of limes just off the tree, cut and pressed to express their juice, and enough white rum to give you a buzz. It is, in fact, a French Antillean cousin of Brazil’s caipirinha. In some parts of the French-speaking Caribbean, it’s known as a C.R.S. for its three ingredients: citron (lime), rhum (no translation necessary!), and sucre (sugar). ’Ti punches are absolutely habit-forming and quite lethal.
makes 1 drink
1 lime, cut into palettes (see page 47)
1 heaping teaspoon unrefined Muscovado or Demerara sugar (see Notes)
2 ounces white rhum agricole, such as Rhum Dillon (see Notes)
Put the lime pieces in an old-fashioned (bucket) glass or a small wide-mouthed stemmed glass. Add the sugar and pour in the rhum. Stir until well mixed. Taste and adjust the sugar and rhum as desired. Serve immediately
NOTES
• I prefer Muscovado or Demerara sugar in these because you get the molasses hit of the sugar and the cane taste of the rhum.
• You may use any white rum, but the white rhum agricole of the French Caribbean has a sugarcane-y flavor that is not duplicated in the white rums from the rest of the region.