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Poncha

Cane spirit, lemon and honey spun to a froth in the glass: Madeira's signature sweet-tart drink.

With orange juice

For one serving

Ingredients

  • Lemon

    Peel only, no white pith

    2 slices
  • Sugar
    0.5 tsp
  • Rhum agricole

    Just under 1.5 oz of white rhum agricole in the original

    40 ml / 1.35 US fl oz
  • Lemon Juice
    30 ml / 1.01 US fl oz
  • Orange Juice
    40 ml / 1.35 US fl oz
  • Honey
    1 tsp

US fl oz amounts are rounded; use ml for exact measures.

Make it

  1. Chill the rhum agricole and both juices ahead of time.
  2. Muddle the lemon peel and sugar into an even paste in a sturdy glass.
  3. Add the rhum agricole, lemon juice, orange juice and honey.
  4. Stand a wooden spoon in the glass and spin it between your palms until well mixed and frothy.
  5. Taste, adjust with lemon juice or honey, and strain into a small glass.

Behind the drink

Madeira's signature drink, traditionally mixed by spinning a wooden stick called a mexelote between the palms. In 2014 the regional government approved a draft decree confirming its geographical indication and regulating its production.

Recipe reference

From Ilda Marques of Quinta Grande, Madeira, as published by PUNCH: the Poncha Regional, with orange juice. The old fashioned glass follows English Wikipedia; PUNCH strains it into a small stemmed glass.

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