Need simple rum drink recipe

[Jenise]

At next weekend's party, I need to serve a rum drink that we can kind of pretend is a mai tai but which needs to contain very low alcohol and not have any complicated expensive ingredients in it. I have about $40 to spend on 80 servings. It's going to be a little refresher passed out at the door of "The Parrot Club" our little neighborhood clubhouse is being transformed into for this event. Anyone have any ideas? I'm at a loss. I'm just about blind from staring at drink recipes that call for all kinds of expensive or complex syrups that I'd also have to make. I have responsibility for all the food, room set up and decorations, too (budget: $800 total)--I have too much to do to go to a lot of trouble on this, and my audience isn't sophisticated enough to know the difference anyway.

Help!

Fill a glass with ice. Pour in a shot of white rum, and fill the glass with Collins mix. Top with a wedge of Key Lime

??? Mixed tropical fruit juices from concentrate or bottle .... again pineapple, guava, mango, passion fruit with some coconut milk, seltzer and rum AND bitters that always does something wonderful for these fruits. Heavy on the pineapple because it is cheap with the more expensive stuff as budget allows. Garnish with frozen fruits or mint frozen in ice cubes.
Pretty ordinary and you would not likely serve this on any other occasion but bitters can raise the flavor considerably.
Reading this over sounds like a "shower punch"

Elderflower liquor spritzers ??

We do a version of Planter's Punch that's 2 oz. dark rum (Myers is one that's decent and inexpensive), 1.5 oz orange juice, 1.5 oz pineapple juice, 3/4 oz. fresh lime or lemon juice, and 1/4 oz grenadine. You could make up a big batch of the juices in the morning, ice it down, and then mix with whatever portion of rum gets you the alcohol level needed. The missing rum may kick the balance off a bit, but that's probably going to happen with any tiki drink that gets low in the alcohol range.

You can sub mango or papaya nectar for the pineapple juice if you'd like. Just be sure to taste and adjust the citrus for balance.

We do a version of Planter's Punch that's 2 oz. dark rum (Myers is one that's decent and inexpensive), 1.5 oz orange juice, 1.5 oz pineapple juice, 3/4 oz. fresh lime or lemon juice, and 1/4 oz grenadine. You could make up a big batch of the juices in the morning, ice it down, and then mix with whatever portion of rum gets you the alcohol level needed. The missing rum may kick the balance off a bit, but that's probably going to happen with any tiki drink that gets low in the alcohol range.

You can sub mango or papaya nectar for the pineapple juice if you'd like. Just be sure to taste and adjust the citrus for balance.

This is my recipe for rum punch. It will make almost a gallon of "base" punch.
4 C sugar
~10 C water
1.5 C lime juice (or concentrate)
1.5 TBSP Angostura bitters
1/2 gal cheap dark rum

Bring sugar and water to boil until sugar dissolves. Stir in lime juice and Angostura bitters and let sit until room temperature. Once cooled, add rum and stir well. This is a pretty good rum punch on its own, but can be further diluted with fruit juices (mango, orange, pineapple, passion fruit, etc) to make a light rum punch of the person's liking. This recipe should come within budget and cover the cost of 1 drink per person when served over ice.

[Jenise]

You guys all make great points about the bitters, and that's easy. Thanks for all the help, I feel braver now. Mike if I'd remembered he name 'Plantars Punch' earlier I probably wouldn't have gotten so frustrated. I kept looking for Mai Tai's, and hit a wall. I'll use Jo Ann's framework but fill in some of the water with the fruit juices mentioned.

p.s. my one and only favorite mixed drink is a dark rum gimlet made with just dark rum (like Myers) and a generous quantity of Rose's lime juice. I may not be the best judge (or I'll be a drunk judge) of what creates a satisfying drink for everyone else.

I immediately thought of a Hurricane. You could definitely tweak the recipe to reduce expenses. Also, I know that Malibu Rum is cheap and has a nice coconuty flavor, which I think would blend well into the theme.

Hurricane Ingredients:

2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
2 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
Juice of a half a lime
1 Tbsp simple syrup
1 Tbsp grenadine
Orange slice and cherry for garnish

[Jenise]

Mmmm...me loves hurricanes. Actually, as long as it's neither too sweet nor creamy, I pretty much love rum drinks. A hurricane would be too strong for this crowd--I'm not joking about low alcohol--like, they probably should hardly be able to taste it--but this is probably about the strength I'm going to need starting about noon on Saturday. I'm like the wedding planner--I get to supervise all the table set up and decorations in addition to all the food! Hear me on this: NEVER again! On October 6th my term is over and they can go back to holding their crappy potlucks.

[url]On October 6th my term is over and they can go back to holding their crappy potlucks.[/url]

Jenise, I don't know if you recall Peggy Bucholz, her website is Fine Dinings. She is a wonderful cook and knows how to entertain. She moved to Oro Valley from Clackamus and went into a retirement area. She did the same thing you did. Could not believe the crappy potlucks and took on the job of doing them better. She found out the people really did not care one way or the other.....after all, many are there for the social part of it.

What do you think about Ginger Beer an d Rum as in a Dark and Stormy? Nothing could be simpler unless you left out the Ginger Beer. Liz does not like Ginger Beer so I have to go solo with this cocktail.

[Jenise]

[url]On October 6th my term is over and they can go back to holding their crappy potlucks.[/url]

Jenise, I don't know if you recall Peggy Bucholz, her website is Fine Dinings. She is a wonderful cook and knows how to entertain. She moved to Oro Valley from Clackamus and went into a retirement area. She did the same thing you did. Could not believe the crappy potlucks and took on the job of doing them better. She found out the people really did not care one way or the other.....after all, many are there for the social part of it.

I do remember Peggy. And yeah, most people really don't care. To too many people, as long as food isn't burned or bitter it's good, but there's pitifully little actual discrimination between good/better/best.

[Jenise]

What do you think about Ginger Beer an d Rum as in a Dark and Stormy? Nothing could be simpler unless you left out the Ginger Beer. Liz does not like Ginger Beer so I have to go solo with this cocktail.

Love the simplicity but the alcohol would be too high. Need to do something 'punchy'.

If you don't want too sweet and you decide to use a version of my rum punch, definitely alter the sugar content of the simple syrup. It is a bit sweet for my taste, but I usually mix it with a splash of seltzer or tonic water and orange juice.

[Jenise]

If you don't want too sweet and you decide to use a version of my rum punch, definitely alter the sugar content of the simple syrup. It is a bit sweet for my taste, but I usually mix it with a splash of seltzer or tonic water and orange juice.

Yes, I had already decided that. We've already named our drink The Birch Bay Sling, and we're going to add a touch of blueberry to really "bring it home". Thanks again for your help.

I know it's way after the fact but I want to take this opportunity to promote a Planter's Punch recipe from my 1985 edition of "Joy of Cooking". I have used this recipe and it makes a very good - and incredibly potent, sneaky - drink. You might note that it makes 124 oz of punch, of which 96 oz are spirits.

2 cups dark rum
2 cups curacao
8 cups light rum
6 oz can of frozen pineapple concentrate
6 oz can of frozen orange concentrate
6 oz can of frozen limeade concentrate
10 oz can of frozen lemonade concentrate

Mix all ingredients. Fill a tall glass 3/4 full of ice, pour punch to nearly fill the glass, and top with a slice of fruit (pineapple chunk, orange slice, strawberry, maraschino).

Makes 20 servings.

I know it's seasonal, but my favorite rum drink is eggnog.

I know it's seasonal, but my favorite rum drink is eggnog.

Ahhh Howie. You just gave me a taste for the holidays! Yikes.

I know it's way after the fact but I want to take this opportunity to promote a Planter's Punch recipe from my 1985 edition of "Joy of Cooking". I have used this recipe and it makes a very good - and incredibly potent, sneaky - drink. You might note that it makes 124 oz of punch, of which 96 oz are spirits.

2 cups dark rum
2 cups curacao
8 cups light rum
6 oz can of frozen pineapple concentrate
6 oz can of frozen orange concentrate
6 oz can of frozen limeade concentrate
10 oz can of frozen lemonade concentrate

Mix all ingredients. Fill a tall glass 3/4 full of ice, pour punch to nearly fill the glass, and top with a slice of fruit (pineapple chunk, orange slice, strawberry, maraschino).

Makes 20 servings.

That looks like a good basic punch version of the PP, Jeff.

You might slosh in a touch of grenadine (from the islands, mon), about a splash for each drink, so maybe a small bottle, to add the right Caribbean touch. When I make batches of PP---and I haven't done that for a while now; must not have as many drinking buddies as I used to---I usually keep a bottle of extra-dark rum handy (but sometimes just Myer's or Coruba) to top a float on each drink. Makes it even more tasty....and wicked.