With recipes varying from island-to-island and bar-to-bar, the dominant ingredients normally include almonds, cloves, lime and ginger, all held together in an overproof rum base combined with simple syrup. Thick, rich and incredibly complex, when used in small doses it creates a bracing undertone to other flavours, brightening the sour notes whilst adding layers of interest and spice.

Originally a punch style drink invented in Barbados, some sources claim the original formulation was created in 1750 by Henry Parkinson, with his great-great-grandson, Arthur Stansfeld, registering it and bringing it to the states in 1934. Although this is around the time it first started appearing in bar manuals, there’s some evidence (an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1896) that lends credence to John D Taylor’s claim of having an ‘original’ recipe dating back to 1890. Though this is more likely to be its route to commercialisation than its actual invention.

Whatever the source, bars these days use Falernum as an accent ingredient, with mixologists using the original recipes as a starting place to build their own unique flavour combinations.