The Planter's Punch recipe
for your table
Pour the rum, lime juice and sugar cane juice directly into a tumbler.
Fill the glass with ice cubes and stir for ten seconds with a bar spoon so everything mixes well.
Taste and dilute with 2 to 4 cl cold water or extra ice until the acidity, sweetness and rum are balanced.
Squeeze an orange zest over the glass so the oil falls onto the drink, then place the twist on top.
What did you think of this recipe?
One click on a star is enough. If you’d like to add something, we’ll review it first before it appears here.
Save this recipe
Send the Planter's Punch recipe to your own email, so you’ll have it at hand when you’re ready to make it. You’ll also receive a € 5 discount code when you spend € 50 or more, for the matching glasses.
The story
Planter's Punch comes from Jamaica, where rum, citrus, and cane sugar were readily available in the nineteenth century. No one knows exactly how old the recipe is. What is certain is that the British magazine Fun printed a verse in 1878 with the proportions: one glass of lemon juice, two glasses of sugar, three glasses of rum, and four glasses of cold water. This mnemonic is still passed around among bartenders as one part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, and four parts weak. The name is generally associated with the planters, the owners of the island's sugar plantations. In the twentieth century, orange juice, pineapple juice, and grenadine were added to many recipes. The IBA sticks to the bare essentials and leaves dilution up to you.
The right glass
The IBA specifies a small tumbler, or a traditional terracotta cup. A tumbler of around 30 cl is the best choice at home: spacious enough for a few large ice cubes and a splash of water, yet small enough not to dilute the rum into lemonade. The heavy, flat glass stands firmly, and because you build the drink in the glass, you do not need a shaker. View our tumbler glasses. For a group, mix it in a jug from our pitchers.
Eclat Longchamp Tumbler 32 cl (6 pieces)
RCR Aria Tumbler 38 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 63,90.
The right tools
For a Planter's Punch, besides the glass, use a bar spoon for stirring, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus juicer, a zester for the twist, and large ice cubes. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Large cubes melt slowly, so your drink gets less diluted
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 194,70.
What do you make a Planter's Punch with?
For a Planter's Punch, you need rum. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works well in, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
The version most people know is long and fruity: rum with orange juice, pineapple juice, lime, grenadine, and a few dashes of Angostura, served in a highball glass. You can find it in our Summer Rum Punch. The IBA itself leaves room for variation: you can lengthen it with water, ice, or fresh fruit juice. If you do not have sugarcane juice, use 1 cl sugar syrup with 2 cl water. If you want to take it further in a tiki direction, move on to the Mai Tai or the Zombie.
Serving tip
Use a bold Jamaican rum; it can take center stage here. Use large, hard ice cubes from the freezer so the drink dilutes evenly instead of all at once. Serve it with a straw and give it another stir halfway through.
Good to know
What is sugarcane juice and where can you buy it
Sugarcane juice is the juice pressed from fresh sugarcane stalks: greenish-yellow, sweet, and with a fresh, grassy flavor. It is much less sweet than sugar syrup. In the Netherlands, you can find it fresh or canned at Surinamese, Asian, and Latin American shops, and sometimes frozen. Fresh juice changes color and ferments quickly, so use it within a day or freeze it in portions. If you cannot find it, use 1 cl sugar syrup and 2 cl water. This roughly matches the sweetness of 3 cl sugarcane juice, although you will miss the grassy edge.
Which Jamaican rum works best
Jamaican rum has a character all its own. Much of it is distilled in pot stills and fermented for a long time, producing pronounced notes of overripe banana, pineapple, and spice. That flavor carries this drink, so a neutral white rum would be a missed opportunity here. Appleton Estate is one of the best-known brands and a safe choice. If you want more character, look for a rum from Hampden or Worthy Park. A dark, heavy rum such as Myers's gives the punch a rounder, more caramel-like character. Taste your rum neat first: whatever you enjoy there, you'll taste again in the glass.
One sour, two sweet, three strong, four weak
The old rhyme is more than folklore; it still works as a blueprint. One part sour is the lime juice, two parts sweet is the sugar, three parts strong is the rum, and four parts weak is the water or ice that makes the drink easy to drink. Place the IBA measurements alongside it and you see the same logic: 1.5 cl lime, 3 cl sugarcane juice, 4.5 cl rum, then top up to taste. With 6 cl water and melting ice, you're right on target. Remember the rule and you can make this punch anywhere, without a recipe or measuring cup.
Making Planter's Punch for a group
Because you build this drink rather than shake it, it's ideal for a large pitcher. For eight glasses, mix 36 cl rum, 12 cl fresh lime juice, 24 cl sugarcane juice, and 30 to 40 cl cold water. Refrigerate the pitcher for at least an hour and pour over fresh ice in tumblers. Don't put the ice in the pitcher, or the last round will be watery. Squeeze the orange zest over each glass just before serving. Find more ideas for large gatherings at cocktails for a group.
Difference between Planter's Punch and rum punch
Planter's Punch according to the IBA is short and simple: rum, lime, sugarcane juice, and water, built in a small tumbler. You mainly taste the rum. A rum punch as most people know it is a long drink with orange, pineapple, and grenadine, often made with several types of rum, and more fruity than powerful. The two are related: the fruity version developed from the old punch over the course of the twentieth century. If you're used to the sweet version, the original may seem austere at first, but it shows better what a good rum can do. By shaking your rum, lime, and sugar without water, you're actually close to a Daiquiri.
How much alcohol is in a Planter's Punch
Expect around 12 to 13 percent ABV in the glass. The 4.5 cl of 40 percent rum provides 1.8 cl of pure alcohol, divided across a drink of about 14 cl after adding water and melting ice. That is slightly less than one and a half standard drinks. If you use a potent Jamaican rum of 50 percent or more, it rises quickly, and then extra water is not dilution but necessary to keep the drink balanced. Taste after topping up and add more where needed.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into a Planter's Punch?
According to the IBA, it contains 4.5 cl Jamaican rum, 1.5 cl lime juice and 3 cl sugarcane juice, added directly to a small tumbler. Top up with water, ice or fresh juice to taste and garnish with an orange zest. Many bars make a longer, fruitier version with orange and pineapple juice.
Which rum do you use for a Planter's Punch?
Jamaican rum, as prescribed by the IBA. Thanks to pot stills and long fermentation, it has a full flavor of banana, pineapple and spice, and that flavor carries the drink. Appleton Estate is a good starting point; dark rum such as Myers's makes it rounder and sweeter.
What can you use instead of sugarcane juice?
Use 1 cl sugar syrup with 2 cl water. Sugarcane juice is much less sweet than syrup, so without water your punch will be too sweet. Cane sugar syrup or demerara sugar syrup comes closest to the original in flavor, as it has a lightly caramelized note like the juice.
Which glass do you use for a Planter's Punch?
A small tumbler of around 30 cl, or traditionally a terracotta cup. The drink is built in the glass and topped up with ice and water, so you want a sturdy glass with room for large ice cubes. For the long, fruity version, use a highball glass.
Everything for your bar,
to one address
Glasses in hospitality quality, supplied per set. Order today, delivered quickly.
Shop the glasses →