Rum punch in a pineapple
It would seem clear from the picture on the opposite page that Adele Astaire is both eternally young and eternally full of fun—which is exactly the case. Her expression probably is due in part to the delectable rum drink she is sipping from the hollowed inside of a pineapple. The drink is a specialty of that Xanadu of club-colony resorts, Round Hill, eight miles west of Montego Bay in the West Indian island of Jamaica. Here the darling of the '20s, who with her brother Fred once danced into the hearts of a whole generation of Broadway theatergoers, lives exuberantly in the present, acknowledged as one of the gayest members of a winter colony not given in any large degree to asceticism.
During their weeks at Round Hill, Adele and her husband, Kingman Douglass, a Manhattan investment broker, lead an utterly relaxed life. "King and I love our cottage," she told me. "It has white jalousies and is mostly white inside. Some rooms are yellow, but it's all very cool. We love the trees called flame-of-the-forest, the hummingbirds with long tails, the palms, the tuberoses, the night-scented jasmine. The whole place has what I call a chic léger: there are French chefs in the main do (the Round Hill Hotel, central clubhouse of the cottage owners) and fabulous food; marvelous wines and calypso singers at night....
"Everybody you've ever heard of turns up in Round Hill," she went on, "but the lovely thing is, you can be yourself. I can go to bed if I want to with a cup of tea, a boiled egg and the sound of distant music. I can wear Chinese pajama suits. I love the picnics we can take any day to distant beaches. And I love the drinks made with rum, and rum on the rocks—that's very romantic under the moon."
To the sportsmen and beach-lovers and just plain vacationers who have been captivated at one time or another by Round Hill, or by some other island paradise in the Caribbean, the taste of either of the rum concoctions described at right should bring to mind some of the romance of these delightful places.
ROUND HILL SPECIAL
This drink calls for a small, ripe pineapple. First the end including the green "crown" of the pineapple is cut off—later to be replaced—and a hole for the straw is made in this cap with an ice pick or other sharp instrument.
Now remove the pulp from the decapitated pineapple to form a hollow within the shell of the fruit. Cut pulp finely; you will need enough to fill about½ cup closely packed. Place this in an electric blender with 2 ounces (¼ cup) of gold Jamaica rum. (In this recipe a gold rum of some other variety, such as Cuban or Puerto Rican, can be substituted, if desired, with a corresponding variation in results.) Add also to the blender 1 ounce (‚⅛ cup) apricot brandy, 2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lime juice and¾ cup shaved ice. Run the blender at high speed. Pour drink into pineapple. Replace top and stick it in place with toothpicks. Serve with a straw.
PEPPER PUNCH (for two)
This is a famous drink served with the Plantation Breakfast (actually brunch) in the patio at Round Hill. A 40-foot buffet table is piled high with about 75 West Indian dishes, including breadfruit stuffed with Parmesan cheese and fried coconut, Jamaican chicken-rice, an array of roasted suckling pigs, white rice with pigeon peas, etc., etc. Here is the formula for the punch:
Place in a large shaker the following ingredients: 2 ounces (¼ cup) gold Jamaica rum; 1 ounce (‚⅛ cup) dark Jamaica rum; 7 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lime juice; 7 teaspoons sugar dissolved in a little water; 4 large dashes of Angostura bitters and 1 large dash each of cayenne pepper and ground cinnamon. Add a cup or a little more of fine-cracked ice and shake madly. Pour out the punch, ice and all, into 2 old-fashioned glasses. [This is to my mind one of the best West Indian drinks I have ever tasted—M.F.M.]
PHOTO
TONI FRISSELL
PHOTO
TONI FRISSELL
WINTER BATHING AT THE LUXURIOUS JAMAICA RESORT