Oh rum. Between you and tequila you really got a bad reputation in my teen years as the kind of sickly sweet spirit that inevitably made me cradle a toilet bowl in my arms while sobbing something about never drinking again.
But as I grew up, so did you - into quite the mature and sophisticated liquor that has me reaching for my shaker, especially during these hot and humid summer days.
Ahead are 5-ish cocktails that we’ve been known to enjoy at Spirited. Unsurprisingly, most of the ingredients you can also purchase with us (BYO sugar and lime). If you find yourself with any questions about substitutions, specs or process, please don't hesitate to ask us.
1. Daiquiri
This has been a stalwart in my cocktail arsenal since time immemorial. The great bartender’s choice, this beauty is as much a delight at 2 in the afternoon as it is at 2 in the morning. My big rule: you gotta keep it fresh. Dark rums can work but quite frankly I like to use something grassy that complements the lime with a touch of creaminess that rounds it all out.
Foursquare’s Veritas is a bloody good choice for this - Haitian Clairin’s can also do the trick, but at 47% Veritas doesn’t disappear in the lime and sugar - it is the star of the show, bending the sweet and sour to its will.
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- 50ml Foursquare Veritas
- 30ml Lime
- 2tsp Caster Sugar (if you want to use sugar syrup, you can - I have been known to use a 1:1 sugar syrup in a pinch. I don’t like using boiling water though, so try to just stir cold water and caster sugar together until it dissolves and the solution goes clear)
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Put all ingredients together and shaky bake-y like you’ve never shaky bakied before. You want this COLD. Colder than my shoulder when you’ve slighted me. COLD!!
**Honourable Mention: The Caipirinha
As we’ve already discussed, lime + sugar + sugarcane spirit = delightful, and this popular Brazilian drink is no different. Cachaça is made from sugarcane juice, not molasses and typically goes through pot distillation (as opposed to the column method of its sugarcane juice counterparts Clairin and Rhum Agricole).
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- 50ml Velho Barreiro Cachaça
- 1 Lime
- 2tsp Caster Sugar
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To make a caipirinha take a glass and add chunks of 1 lime (usually easier if you cut the lime through the equator and then into chunks, not wedges…does that make sense?). Add 2 heaped teaspoons of caster sugar and muddle limes and sugar together. You want juicy limes. You want to be dissolving the sugar into the lime juice to create a slurry of sour and sweet. Nom nom nom. Add 50ml cachaca, top with crushed ice.
Yes you could also shake this (after muddling). Add all ingredients into shaker with ice… shake and dump all ingredients into the glass and top with crushed ice
2. Piña Colada
"Oh, really?!" I hear you say, "A Piña Colada and a Daiquiri? In a favourite rum cocktail blog? How incredibly original of you. Do you need to sit down from all your creative thinking?"
Well thank you, whoever you are, yes I do.
And as hard as you may try to resist the temptation of the Piña Colada, quite frankly the bastard will always reel you in when you’re in need of a touch of escapism (queue: that goddam song about that guy liking Piña Coladas).
Now, awhile back a shall-not-be-mentioned big brand rum came out with their own Piña Colada recipe that didn’t contain cream - it was pretty refreshing, however what you lacked in cream you made up for in quite a bit of sugar, but if you’re feeling it, give it a try.
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- 50ml Takamaka Rum Blanc
- 50ml Coconut Water
- 25ml Fresh Pineapple Juice
- 3-4 chunks of pineapple
- 3tsp caster sugar
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Muddle chunks of pineapple, add the rest of the ingredients and shake. Add crushed ice to (quite a large) glass and strain cocktail ingredients into the (quite large) glass.
HOWEVER, If classic and creamy is more your fancy, then try this puppy. We’ve used Takamaka for both options here - there’s something in their fermentation of the Rum Blanc that creates a beautiful coconut flavour that obviously lends itself very well to this drink.
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- 30ml Takamaka Rum Blanc
- 2 Pineapple Wedge
- 25ml Freshly Pineapple Juice
- 30ml Coco Lopez
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Add all ingredients into the blender with enough ice to fill your glass. Blend. What you’re looking for is almost ice cream consistency. If it’s still too liquid, add a bit more ice and blend again. Pour out into a nice cocktail glass (or coconut?) and garnish with a pineapple wedge.
3. Right Hand
(aka Rum Negroni with Chocolate Bitters aka Kingston Negroni with Chocolate Bitters)
Created by Melbournian Sam Ross, at his bar in New York, and now being created for you in Bristol - with the popularity of the negroni really hitting its stride in the last couple of years, there’s no wonder why this drink has followed suit.
What you need is an aged rum. Something with body. White rum for the most part won’t do what you want it to here in terms of texture and I don’t find those grassy, clean notes really something you want in a Right Hand.
We’ve gone with El Dorado 12YO - the dark chocolate, stewed fruits really goes well with the vermouth and chocolate bitters in the drink.
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- 45ml El Dorado 12YO
- 30ml Campari
- 30ml Sweet Vermouth (we like Aperitivo Co’s Turin Rosso)
- 2 dashes of Chocolate Bitters
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All ingredients into a glass with ice, stir and let it dilute some. Garnish with an orange twist.
** Honourable Mention: Rum Old Fashioned
This is really for those who want a stirred down cocktail with rum but find themselves without the Campari and Vermouth.
An Old Fashioned really is a testament to the spirit you use - there’s not a lot of room to hide here and if you’re working with something of poor quality, you’ll know in your first sip.
Here, I would use either El Dorado 12yo or 15yo. The tropical fruits in the 15yo really sing in a drink like this. Neither rum is too sweet, and both have complex flavours that keep it interesting.
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- 50ml El Dorado 12yo or El Dorado 15yo
- 15ml Sugar Syrup (Again, I use 1:1 sugar, but I would use Demerara sugar to lend itself to the richness of this drink)
- 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
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All ingredients into a glass with ice, stir and let it dilute some. Garnish the cocktail with both a lemon and orange twist. The lemon oils create a slightly drier finish which I think balances out the sweetness of this drink.
4. Old Cuban
Old Cuban is what happens when a Mojito grows up. It adds Champagne. These were once on offer during a 50th birthday party I went to (dressed as a fried egg, but that’s another story) and much to the chagrin of the bartenders, 200 of us drank them all damn night.
For the rum, Chairman’s Reserve from St Lucia is the one. The tropical fruits and banana notes lend itself well to that classic mojito flavour: mint, lime and sugar; while the baking spice, golden raisin and tobacco leaf add an edge and an age to it. Add some Angostura bitters and top that with sparkling wine or Champagne and you’re away laughing.
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- 45ml Chairmans Reserve Original
- 20ml Lime Juice
- 15ml Sugar Syrup
- 6-8 Mint Leaves
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- Sparkling Wine / Champagne
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Combine the first 5 ingredients into a shaker, add ice and shake. Strain into a coupe and top with your choice of bubbles.
5. Junglebird
If you make all the cocktails that came before this cocktail on the list, you’ll be able to make the Junglebird. Think of it like the Big Boss you fight to win the level.
Take the Campari you have to make the Right Hand, the pineapple juice from the Piña Colada, the lime and sugar from… almost every drink… add rum and BAM. Junglebird.
Rum-wise, you’ll need something with a bit of weight to it again, something with body that can stand up to the big flavours from the other ingredients. I went with Pussers Gunpowder Rum because, besides the cinnamon, ginger and honey, the treacle note adds the backbone you want in this cocktail. It’s that bitter-sweetness that elevates the drink.
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- 45ml Pussers Gunpowder Rum
- 15ml Campari
- 45ml Pineapple Juice
- 15ml Lime Juice
- 10ml Sugar Syrup (add some cinnamon into your sugar syrup for a bit more ooh la la)
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Add all ingredients into a shaker and shake what ya mama gave you. Strain into your cocktail glass. Add a pineapple wedge for the garnish (and a snack!).
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Well, if you’ve made it through the anecdotes and recipes, thank you for your time. I realise I promised 5 drinks and what you got was about 7 along with some rambling (lucky you!).
It can be a bit daunting to start making cocktails at home, but I assure you that once you get going it’s a helluva lot of fun.
