Hawaiian Rum Punch

Inspired by Hawaii.  I should probably be clear on that...this is certainly no authentic island drink.  Though in the tourist traps and tropical resorts anything served in a coconut or pineapple may qualify.

"One part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, four parts weak"

I'm not sure who is originally credited with this saying, though I first heard it from Bobby Flay.  I used this as the basis for our tropical punch.  That and a quick perusal of the drink menu at our very own Tiki bar on the banks of the Mississippi, Psycho Suzi's

Rum and pineapple were key.  I wanted to evoke something akin to POG.  Passion fruit, Orange Guava....not the game.  Though the two are related.

 The rest was trail and error until I discovered something tasty. 

POG, the juice, is exceptionally hard to find in Minnesota.  A lot of pineapple/orange/apple, Pineapple/banana/orange, even passion fruit/orange/apple mixes were on hand when I hunted, but guava remained elusive.  Surprisingly a bushel of the fruit was at our local grocery, but the price and time consuming process of juicing gave me pause.  In the end, flavored rums came to the rescue.  Passion fruit rum I found in a heartbeat.  Guava, again, I could not locate, though supposedly Cruzan makes one.

After tinkering around with different ratios...adding more lime, trying less grenidine, swapping in a few different fruit juices...I ended up pretty much right back with the recipe I based it off of.  The only major difference is I used flavored rums instead of Jamacian white and light rums.  I suppose whrn you have a good thing, it needed be tinkered with.

The end result is a sweet cocktail that is dangerously easy to drink.  The lime cuts through the fruit with just enough tartness.  The grenadine adds a berry like sweetness, but it still lacks that strawberry fragrance that the guava would have lent.  But in the end, I'm very content with the result.

And judging by the empty punch bowl and happy guests, I suspect everyone else was as well.

Recipe inspired by Bobby Flay

yields twelve 6 oz servings

The Ingredients:
1 cup lime juice
1 1/2 cups grenadine
1 cup coconut rum
2 cups Passion fruit Rum
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice

Pineapple, cherries and orchids for garnish

The Process:
Combine the juices and rum in a 2 qt pitcher or punch bowl.  Chill at least one hour.

To serve, ladle over ice and garnish with pineapple wedge, cherry and orchid blossom.