If winter doesn’t cool you down, try this fantastic libitation from Jamaica, I bet Ian Fleming did when writing his spy novels.

One recipe for a Planter’s Punch never seems to be the same as another. It can be anything from a simple (probably the closest you’ll get to the original) Jamaican rum, lime juice, sugar syrup and water to a fruit punch with added orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine, bitters and Falernum.

The origin, as with most old cocktails, is uncertain but it seems likely that the Planter’s Punch originated in Jamaica in the late 18th-century as a way to stay cool while working under the Caribbean sun.

The drink first appeared in print in 1878 in a London magazine called Fun. This recipe was more of a verse than a modern day recipe and called for one part lemon juice, two parts sugar, three parts rum and four parts water. You will often hear that the Planter’s Punch was created by Myers’s Rum company in Jamaica but if the recipe really was published in 1878 that would have been difficult since Myers didn’t start their operations until 1879.

The Planter’s Punch was incredibly popular until Prohibition when it fell out of fashion. It did however come back in a big way after WWII when Donn the Beachcomber and Trader Vic both put it on their menus, adding som ingredients and turning it into a Tiki drink.

The glass was designed by Patricia Urquiola in 2016 and is called Trama.

Planter’s Punch

3 parts Jamaican Dark Rum

2 parts sugar syrup

1 part lime juice

2 parts club soda.

Shake all ingredients except club soda with ice. Strain into ice filled glass and garnish with a mint sprig.