15 Feb Caribbean inspiration, lady’s secret
Calendar image of the Reunion-Jade Edition
Arranged rum is a Reunionese term which differed from their traditional white rum by the addition of fruits, barks, spices. These ingredients were macerated for at least 1 month in the bottle. This preparation was put in the sun to accelerate the maceration so that the fruit releases all its sugar or the bark or the spice releases all its aroma.
This is how Reunion Island made it its specialty. Then this drink was diffused in the Indian Ocean, (Mauritius, Madagascar,) by the addition of other spices, bark, cinnamon, ginger, coffee, etc….
In Guadeloupe, this fruit-based drink was commonly called punch. Transported to the island of Reunion, it was called rum arranged and it was added fruit, spices to soften their famous rum which was deemed very “robust”! The most commonly used fruit was lychee followed by vanilla etc.
Over the years and following a craze for arranged rums, it is recommended to use agricultural rum to give them a taste and tasty quality.
Prepare a Caribbean aperitif
To be consumed in moderation and without ice cubes!
Preparing the Caribbean aperitif is a high art and it is above all in the preparation of ti-punch, the national drink of the West Indians.
The ti punch, Creole name which means “little punch” in French, a term deeply rooted in Caribbean culture. It is a cocktail but considered an alcoholic drink in the DOM TOM (French Overseas Department and Territory).
As its English name suggests, the word “punch” can mean both a punch but also have a tonic form. In fact, as it is already used in cocktails (whose origin is a non-alcoholic Indian drink made from 5 ingredients or 5 fruits), in Creole, we say “ti punch”, a popular term to mean that the drink was reduced with 3 ingredients: rum, sugar and lime. These 3 bases that are found and consumed in the French West Indies.
To make a ti-punch, you must
-5 cl of rum according to your taste and mood (strong or light rum, white or old)
-2 cl of cane sugar
-zest of a lime quarter (the quarter must be put in the glass!)
Stir (a few seconds to a few hours) and drink (“cul-sec” or in small sips).
However, each island has its own recipe, you can use:
–a rum: white, old; 40°C, 50°C, 55°C or even 62°C up to 70°C (“Spirit” from Neisson)
–sugar cane: white, brown, refined or not, in powder, in liquid form, in syrup (white or brown), battery syrup or a spoonful of homemade fruit marmalade
–lemon: green, yellow, quartered, liquid
But in any case, preparing the ti punch is a ritual or even a ceremony. It is drunk during an aperitif, with friends. In short, any opportunity is good to take to drink one, in the West Indies: in the morning at “ti dej” until midnight to fall asleep. The important thing is to respect the proportions! so that on the palate, the ti punch is balanced in the mouth and pleasant to drink.
Moreover, in the West Indies, your hosts will tell you!