Pineapple Ti Punch

A basic Ti’ Punch is probably not going to be very sweet. It is a simple drink that is really a way to highlight flavors in your favorite rhum agricole. We suspect that some ti’ punch lovers are purists who want to keep the drink simple, however we know from attending some Clement events that even ti’ punch enthusiasts like to build the drink out into other cocktails from time to time – and the combination of lime, sugar and rhum agricole is a great base for many different cocktails.

This Pineapple Ti Punch is a great drink for those who like things a little bit sweeter. It’s not overly sweet, but it adds plenty of pineapple and a little bit of spice to the original drink. The spice comes from our homemade Spiced Simple Syrup, which is infused with cinnamon, cloves and vanilla bean. It’s hard to overstate exactly how delicious this syrup is, but when you start to incorporate it into your drinks, you will start to see a real difference in how they taste. Those spices don’t dominate the other flavors in a drink. Instead, they make drinks more complex – which is another way of saying that they make other ingredients pop. The drink will be a lot more interesting with the spiced syrup than without it.

The other interesting element of this drink is the pineapple ice cubes we used. These were made by freezing fresh pineapple juice in a silicone ice cube mold. The cubes chill a drink just like ordinary ice, however they add even more fresh pineapple flavor to the drink as they melt, instead of diluting the drink. If you only have regular ice, you can serve this drink without ice at all and just shake it up with an extra splash of pineapple juice to get a little bit of additional juice into your cocktail.

Pineapple Ti Punch
1/2 oz Homemade Spiced Syrup (or storebought Sirop de Canne)
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz pineapple juice
1 1/2 oz rhum agricole
4 pineapple ice cubes (approx 2 oz pineapple juice)

In a mixing glass, combine spiced simple syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice and rhum. Shake vigorously with ice, then strain into a rocks glass filled with pineapple ice cubes.

Serves 1.