Exactly 100 years ago today the New York Times published the following poetic recipe that is based on rhymes that are repeated by rote in the Caribbean:

PLANTER’S PUNCH
This recipe I give to thee,
Dear brother in the heat.
Take two of sour (lime let it be)
To one and a half of sweet,
Of Old Jamaica pour three strong,
And add four parts of weak.
Then mix and drink. I do no wrong —
I know whereof I speak.

Depending on where you are in the Caribbean, similar poetic recipes can be found for Planter’s Punch, Bajan Rum Punch, or Caribbean Rum Punch. The differences between them are minor variations in the ratios of lime juice to the other ingredients.

Decoding the rhyme, the “sour” is lime or lemon juice, the “sweet” is some form of citrus juice – usually pineapple or orange juice. The “strong” is, of course, rum. And the “weak” is water.

Today, we don’t usually water down our liquor because it is no longer sold at barrel strength the way it was 100 years ago. Plus, the crushed ice dilutes the drink naturally.

So, to modernize the recipe a bit, here’s how I make mine:

• 1 ½ oz Light Rum
• 1 ½ oz Dark Rum
• 3 oz Orange Juice (or substitute Pineapple Juice)
• 1/2 to 1 oz Lime Juice (depending on your taste)
• 1 cup crushed ice

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake well. Then pour into a Collins glass and garnish with citrus fruit slices.

Of course, you can always scale this recipe up to a “punch” and make a whole pitcher of it.

If you are going to be serving friends Margaritas outside this hot weekend, then you might consider offering the Matador as an option. It is similar to a Margarita, but is a little more fruity and sweet tasting – which actually makes it a bit better for those Late July deck and pool parties!

Now, there are a number of ways of making a Matador. Some recipes call for the use of RedBull in place of the Pineapple Juice that is used in the classic version. If you are looking for an extra jolt of caffeine then you might try that. You can also make them frozen (blended) or on the rocks.

One thing all the versions share is that they are tangy, sweet, and perfect for a hot day.

So for your viewing pleasure, we are including three versions of the Matador today. Try one, try ‘em all!

Classic Matador

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila (mid-grade “Gold” is fine)
• 1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Simple Syrup

Directions:
Shake it in a Cocktail Shaker with ice, Strain into a salt-rimmed cocktail glass.

Modern Matador

• 1 oz Tequila (mid-grade, again)
• 1/2 oz Triple Sec
• 1 oz RedBull
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice

Directions:
Shake it in a Cocktail Shaker with ice, Strain into a salt-rimmed cocktail glass.

Frozen Matador

• 2 oz Tequila
• 1/4 oz Triple Sec
• 1/4 cup Pineapple Chunks
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 cup ice

Directions
Combine these ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve this one in a highball or Collins glass

Who doesn’t enjoy a nice cold Pina Colada on a hot day? The drink was developed in Puerto Rico in the 1950’s and became popular in the States during the ’70s.

Today it has a bit of a “Retro” flavor – or maybe that’s just the Rum I taste.

Traditionally the drink is shaken, not blended. And while I usually try and do things the “traditional” way – I gotta say that when it comes to Pina Coladas, mine are blended.

Pina Coladas are also easy to make, since they only require 3 ingredients plus ice.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz light rum
• 2 oz of Coconut Cream Liqueur (Coco Lopez is the traditional brand, but use what you have)
• 2 - 6 oz Pineapple Juice
• 1 cup of ice

Directions

Put everything in a blender and blend till smooth. Serve in an old-fashioned glass, rocks glass, or collins glass.

Today is the first day of summer here in the United States. If you happen to be in Europe, then you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for summer to start.

I don’t know why that is. Maybe some of you can clue me in.

At any rate, to celebrate the fact that the sun is hot, today’s cocktail is the famous “Sex on the Beach”.

I remember the first time I actually drank in a bar. I was with a friend of mine, we were about sixteen years old at the time. But we were tipping well, and that’s all the waitress seemed to care about.

I remember that day because we were doing shots of Sex on the Beach, and we were too young to know that the bartender was making them weak since he knew damn well we weren’t old enough to drink.

But they were good anyway, and these days I prefer to drink my Sexes as cocktails rather than shots.

Now, Sex on the Beach’es can be made in a number of ways. Generally, however, it’s Vodka, Peach Schnapps, and some mixture of fruit juices. The ratio of juices to alcohol is usually about 1:1, but you can change that to taste.

If you want to create higher alcohol versions of a Sex on the Beach, then what you would do is substitute different fruit Schnapps for the juices. So, for example, if you wanted a Pineapple tasting Sex, then you would substitute Pineapple Schnapps for Pineapple Juice. Usually you do this if you are making shooters.

So, that being said, here’s how I make them:

• 1 ½ oz Vodka
• 1 ½ oz Peach Schnapps (Or Southern Comfort)
• 1 ½ oz Cranberry Juice
• 1 ½ oz Orange Juice

Southern Comfort is a Peach Liqueur, so if you don’t have the Schnapps, then SoCo would be a reasonable substitute. Also, as I indicated above, you can change out the juices all day long depending on what you have in the fridge. Usually you try to mix a sweet juice with a tangy juice.

So, some good combos would be: Pineapple Juice and Grapefruit Juice; or Apple Juice and Cranberry Juice. Some people also put a teaspoon or so of Grenadine in – it has that sweet/tangy thing built in. You get the idea.

Anyway, Sexes are served in just about every kind of glass: shot glass, highball glass, rocks glass, or (my favorite) the cocktail glass.

If you’re serving in a shot glass, then you’ll be making a stronger drink that uses the schnapps in place of the juices.

Regardless, I hope you have a great first day of summer.

Cheers!

Layered drinks always make things fun. They add visual interest, and they give an extra dimension to your drinks. Ideally, as you drink them, the drink should change from one extreme to another; tangy to sweet, or spicy to mild. That kind of thing.

The Loco Lemonade is an easy and fun drink you can make that gives the extra visual and taste appeal of a layered drink. Just as with a Tequila sunrise, the drink starts off tart, and gets sweeter toward the end. Because it is made with lemonade, however, it is much more tart than a Tequila Sunrise. But it is still great on a hot sunny day!

For this drink I used pink lemonade, but you can use whatever you have laying around. The pink lemonade, in combination with the Grenadine made the drink a little more red.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila
• 4 oz Lemonade
• 1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 oz Grenadine Syrup

Instructions:

Pour the ingredients into your glass (2/3 filled with ice) in this order: Tequila, grenadine, lemonade, lemon juice. If you do it carefully, the layers will make a cloudy, swirling effect.

Remember there are more cocktail recipes at www.drunkmansguide.com

You’re going to need a bottle of Light Rum, a small pile of lemons and some Creme de Menthe. That’s because this week’s Friday 5 o’Clock Cocktail is the Miami Cocktail. A delicious drink that goes well with Spring.

Here’s how to make a Miami Cocktail:

• 1 1/2 oz Light Rum
• 1/2 oz Creme de Menthe
• 1 dash Lemon Juice

Directions: Making this drink is easy. Just put all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake it, strain it, and serve it in a cocktail glass. Fresh Lemon Juice is always best, but we’re drunks so we use whatever we have available.

More Drink Recipes available at the Drunk Man’s Guide.

Minty and sweet - that’s what we’re looking forward to this evening. The perfect drink to sip as you gaze out at your yard and think about all that mowing you are going to be doing tomorrow morning. Yeah, it’s spring alright. The yard work, the pollen, the Rum drinks!

Here’s how to make a Mint Daiquiri:

• 2 oz of Light Rum
• 1/4 oz of Triple Sec (or another kind of Orange Liquour)
• 4 Mint Leaves
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Powdered Sugar
• 1 cup of ice

Add all ingredients into a blender and blend it until it’s smooth. Keep in mind a couple of tips:

1. Try and get as much of the stems off the mint leaves as possible. They can make the drink a little bitter. It doesn’t hurt to use a knife to cut the spines out of the leaves.
2. Make sure you blend it enough to really pulverize those mint leaves down so that they are just specks of green in the drink. If you don’t blend them enough they will get little green flakes caught in your teeth, and that isn’t cute.

Our friend the Cigar Smoking Man suggested a drink this week that deserves a Friday in the spotlight: The Tequini.

As the name suggests, this is a Martini that is made with Tequila. With Martinis, the supporting ingredients are there to bring out the taste of the primary liquor more than they are to make an impression of themselves.

The Cigar Smoking Man points out on his blog the importance of using bitters (sparingly) in this drink. He also makes a good point about bitters – that bitters are to cocktails as salt is to food.

True enough. Bitters do bring out an extra element in many drinks. Like salt, a little goes a long way. If you’ve put enough in your drink to be able to taste it, then you’ve probably used too much.

Here’s how to make a Tequini:

• 1 ½ oz of Tequila
• ½ oz of Dry Vermouth
• 1 Dash of Bitters (I used Angostura)

Directions: As with all martinis, the method of mixing is to STIR the ingredients gently with ice so you don’t bruise the liquor. Then strain the clear drink into a cocktail glass and garnish with lemon peel.

Also, when you get a chance, you should visit the Cigar Smoking Man’s blog. It’s a great read, even for non-smokers like me.

Maybe it’s because Spring is in the air. Maybe I’m just low on Vitamin C, but I have to admit I’ve been drinking these all week
The Orange Juice and Pommegranet flavor in the Grenadine goes well with the silky smoothness of the Tequila. A little squirt of lime juice really finishes the drink off nicely.

Here’s how I make mine:

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila
• 3 oz Orange Juice
• Splash of Grenadine
• 1 slice of lime

Directions:
Combine first three ingredients in a rocks or highball glass with ice. Squeeze the lime slice over the drink and then drop it in. Stir gently. Enjoy.

More Mixed Drink Recipes