Planter’s Punch–a Delicious Cocktail that you can make mostly ahead

I made some homemade grenadine a while back. Here is a recipe for it: https://www.carolinescooking.com/homemade-grenadine/ It really is so easy to make and 50 times better than what you can buy most places which is cherry flavored syrup–and real grenadine is pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon.

Anyway, when our son and his fiancee were here, they wanted to do a fancy cocktail. I got the grenadine out of the freezer and then ended up not using it when they were here. I went online and found a recipe for Planter’s punch, which uses rum and that is probably my husband’s favorite liquor. (By the way, if you substitute tequila blanco for the rum, you get a Mexican firing squad.)

Here’s how I made it:

This makes 2 cocktails.

4 oz rum (dark rum if you have it)

1 1/2 oz grenadine

1 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

6 dashes Pimenta bitters from The Bitter Bottle in Chattanooga (I LOVE THEIR BITTERS–HIGHLY RECOMMEND.)

Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and pour over ice. I added an orange slice and a couple Amarena cherries that have Amaretto in the syrup. If you want to lighten the alcohol, you can add an ounce or two of club soda.

My husband took this to a dinner with his family and I mixed up enough for 6 people, so all he had to do was shake them pour them over ice, and add the garnishes.

This tastes a lot more like fall than I expected. Everyone I have made it for has loved it. We don’t love tequila, but I think we would like a Mexican firing squad.