The secret of Jasper’s special mix

At the rum seminar at Tales of the Cocktail last July, we served three rum-punch-based cocktails to illustrate just how versatile rum punch is as a base for great rum drinks. One of the three was Jasper’s Jamaican Punch, expertly demonstrated and prepared by Stephen Remsberg (photo, at left), the country’s preeminent collector of rum and one of its great repositories of rum lore. (See chapter 10 of And a Bottle of Rum.)

The recipe for this punch he got firsthand from Jasper LaFranc, a noted bartender at the Bay Roc Hotel in Montego Bay, which Remsberg visited in the early 1970s. It's simple but very tasty.

The official recipe cards distributed at Tales included only the ingredient “special mix.” Some attendees found this uniquely unsatisfying in the useful information department. We didn’t mean to be obtuse or secretive - it was mostly a communication lapse with the Tales staff. But a few folks have asked, so here’s the full recipe:

Jasper’s Jamaican Planter’s Punch
1-1/2 oz dark Jamaican rum
1-1/2 oz special mix*
1-1/2 cups crushed ice

Flash blend for ten seconds, pour in a 10-oz highball, and add ice to fill. Garnish with orange slice and cherry.

*Jasper’s special mix
1 part fresh lime juice
1 part sugar
To taste:
Angostura bitters
fresh-grated nutmeg

Stir until dissolved. Let steep in refrigerator at least two hours.