Why do we celebrate Labor Day? Is it because 200 hundred years ago, President Cleveland was feeling a tad sheepish about that whole Pullman-Strike debacle? Possibly. But I think it serves a grander purpose. It’s because we’re all tired and could really use an extra day to catch up on our reading. It’s because the warm weather won’t be around forever. It’s because society needs some definitive deadline on the appropriate wearing of white.

.

So, in honor of this most tranquil of days, a punch!

Planter’s Punch

.

One, two, three, four, punch. Punch, which literally means five in Farsi, Hindi, and over a dozen other languages, should have a minimum of five different ingredients. John O’Hara probably did not know this. Something of a barroom brawler, he believed a punch needed only a clenched fist.

.

2 oz. dark rum
1 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1/2 oz. lime juice
1 oz. orange juice
1 oz. pineapple juice
1 dash of grenadine
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Maraschino cherry
Orange slice
Pineapple wedge

.

Pour all ingredients (except fruit) into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake, and then strain into a Collins glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with cherry, orange slice, and pineapple wedge. Serve with two straws.

.

–From Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers