Holiday Rum Punch

This holiday rum punch is made with apple cider, pomegranate juice, fresh squeezed orange juice, golden or dark rum, and just a hint of ginger ale. It's perfect for when you're not spending your winter holiday on an island but still want some holiday cheer.

Jump to:

• What is rum punch?
• Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Pairing Ideas
• Frequently asked questions
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is rum punch?

Rum punch is a cocktail, usually made with orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, grenadine, and rum. It's sweet, tropical, and perfect for sipping all of your cares away in a hurry.

Technically, though, a punch is any drink (alcoholic or not) made with lots of fruit juice. That's where this holiday rum punch comes in. We made it with apple cider, pomegranate juice, and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Gold, Dark, or Spiced Rum: We use gold or dark rum. Use what you generally prefer.

Apple Cider: Make sure you use apple cider, not apple juice. Most grocery stores near us carry a local option in the fall, but you should be able to find apple cider of some kind all year.

Pomegranate Juice: Pomegranates are a late fall fruit and perfect for the holiday season. You can find pomegranate juice year round in the juice aisle of most grocery stores.

An orange: You can substitute orange juice, but we love freshly squeezed orange juice in this recipe.

Ginger ale: Ginger beer might work well here too, but we haven't tested it.

Optional: Fresh rosemary sprigs and pomegranate arils for garnishing (here's a tutorial on how to get the arils out of a pomegranate).

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Add apple cider, pomegranate juice, fresh orange juice, and rum to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake to combine.

Step 2: Pour the mixture evenly into two cocktail glasses with ice and top with ginger ale. We used fresh rosemary sprigs, pomegranate arils, and an orange twist as garnishes.

Pairing Ideas

Here are some recipes that go well with this holiday rum punch:

• Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting: These are great for feeding a crowd at holiday parties because one batch makes a ton. They're easy to customize for other holidays too—exchange the bats for Christmas trees or leaves to make them more appropriate for Christmas or Thanksgiving.
• Fall Harvest Salad with Sweet Potato, Apple, and Halloumi Cheese: This salad is full of fall flavors and perfect for the entire holiday season. It's also super easy to pull together and filling enough to be a main meal.
• Fried pickle dip: Who doesn't love a good dip with their cocktail?

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📖 Recipe