Donga Punch
A juicy tiki classic with rhum agricole, tart grapefruit and warm cinnamon sweetness.
Ingredients
- Rhum Agricole, aged rhum agricole, ideally from Martiniquee.g. Rhum Clément60 ml
- Grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed white grapefruit30 ml
- Lime juice, freshly squeezed22 ml
- Cinnamon syrup, homemade15 ml
- Grapefruit, to garnish (optional)1 twist
Method
- Make the cinnamon syrup: crush the cinnamon sticks and heat them with sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Then take the pan off the heat and leave it to steep, covered, for at least 2 hours.
- Strain the syrup and keep it chilled (it keeps for up to a month).
- Add the rum, grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup and lime juice to a shaker filled with ice cubes.
- Shake hard for 10–20 seconds.
- Strain over crushed ice into a tiki mug or tall glass.
- Garnish, if you like, with a grapefruit twist, a cinnamon stick or an orchid.
Credit Decoded by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry from Don the Beachcomber’s original notebooks
About this drink
Donga Punch comes from Don the Beachcomber's legendary tiki bar in 1930s Hollywood, where secret recipes were hidden behind code words to stop rivals copying them. The drink is based on the notebook of bartender Ricardo Santiago and was later decoded by tiki historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. At its heart is Don's Mix, a simple but brilliant combination of grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup that gives the drink its sweetness and spiced depth.
Questions and answers
Can you make the cinnamon syrup for Donga Punch in advance?
Yes, absolutely: the syrup keeps for up to a month in the fridge. In fact, the smartest move is to make it the day before, or even earlier, if you are planning a party.
What if you have no cinnamon syrup?
You can make the drink without it, but you lose the warm spice that makes Donga Punch something special rather than just another rum and grapefruit drink. A few dashes of Angostura can bring back some of the complexity.
