Rum

Beachcomber's Punch

Name: Beachcomber's Punch
Yield: 1 servings

Glass: Pilsner

Donn Beach's grapefruit-cinnamon agricole swizzle, originally published as "Donga Punch."

rum tiki tropical mid-century shaken lime grapefruit

Ingredients

fresh lime juice (0.75 oz)
Don's Mix (1.5 oz)
aged Martinique rhum agricole (1.5 oz)
mint sprig (1)
lime wheel (1)

Originally published as "Donga Punch" in Berry's Sippin' Safari (reconstructed from the Dick Santiago notebook), the name was changed in modern menus to "Beachcomber's Punch" because "Donga" was too close to a vulgar slang term.¹ Note that a separate drink also named "Beachcomber's Punch" appears in Berry's Grog Log (1998) on p. 20; this entry uses the modern menu rename for the Donga Punch reconstruction, not the Grog Log drink. The Donga Punch leans on Don's Mix, the standard Beachbum Berry reconstruction of two parts grapefruit juice to one part cinnamon syrup, which gives the agricole its characteristic warm-spice backbone.¹^,²

Brand recommendations. Best: Rhum J.M VSOP or Clement VSOP for the aged Martinique agricole, BG Reynolds or homemade cinnamon syrup for Don's Mix. Economical: Rhum J.M Gold (Paille) or La Favorite Ambre for the agricole, Liber & Co. cinnamon syrup or a homemade 2:1 cinnamon syrup for Don's Mix.

Instructions

Add fresh lime juice, Don's Mix, and aged Martinique rhum agricole to a cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice.
Shake briefly (no more than 10 seconds) and pour unstrained into a pilsner glass or tiki mug.
Garnish with a mint sprig and a lime wheel.

Sources

Berry, Sippin' Safari (2017 ed.), Donga Punch entry, Berry's reconstruction of the Donn Beach drink from the Dick Santiago notes, including the Don's Mix (2:1 grapefruit-to-cinnamon-syrup) formula. The "Donga" → "Beachcomber's Punch" rename is widely documented in modern menu programs. ↩
Vinepair, "Donga Punch." https://vinepair.com/cocktail-recipe/donga-punch/ (accessed 2026-05-03), frontmatter source URL, reproduces the Berry spec and the Don's Mix construction. ↩