Light rum is a bar staple that makes an excellent base for a wide range of cocktails because it lets other flavours take the lead. But it’s worth keeping a dark or spiced rum in for a few easy-but-rewarding cocktails – for a Cuba Libre, you only need team a shot of rum with a Coca-Cola mixer and a splash of lime and you’re good to go.
Here are our top 5 rum-based cocktails.
Mojito
The Mojito transforms a handful of ingredients – rum, mint, lime, sugar syrup, and soda water into a refreshing treat on a hot day. Muddle fresh lime slices with sugar syrup and mint leaves in a small jug till well blended. Add the muddled mixture to a highball glass filled with ice and pour in the light rum, stirring thoroughly with a long-handled spoon. Top up with soda water, garnish with mint and serve*.
Daiquiri
A fresh daiquiri is made with just three ingredients: rum, lime juice and sugar. You can play around with ratios, but a good starting point is four parts light rum to two parts lime juice and one part sugar syrup. Shake with ice before straining into a coupe or Martini glass. Popular variations on the theme include the deliciously summery Strawberry Daiquiri (we make ours from Suffolk Distillery white rum, adding both strawberry liqueur and strawberry puree for extra flavour), although most soft fruits work – blended peach is delicious.
Rum punch
Perhaps one of the earliest classic cocktails (dating back to at least the seventeenth century), the Rum Punch traditionally incorporates citrus/spice flavours with the spirit base. It’s worth experimenting to find your favourite combo but start with equal quantities of light rum and dark rum with a mixture of pineapple, orange and lime juices plus a dash of grenadine. Shake with ice until well chilled before straining into a Collins glass over fresh ice and garnishing with a maraschino cherry.
Piña Colada
A creamy cocktail with a retro vibe that’s perfect for parties. Don’t be tempted to take a shortcut with an inferior carton mix: you only need four ingredients to create a taste of the Caribbean – rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, and lime juice. Blend equal measures of white rum and coconut cream, with pineapple juice and ice till thick and creamy. Wow your friends by serving in a hurricane glass garnished with a slice of pineapple and a cherry.
Dark ‘n Stormy
A surprisingly refreshing blend of three standard bar ingredients – dark rum, ginger beer and lime juice, this cocktail is closely related to the vodka-based Moscow Mule and just as tasty. Add the rum and lime juice to a tall glass filled with ice, top with the ginger beer and garnish with a slice of lime – easy peasy.
*Order a box of Edmunds Mojitos and you only need to add the soda!
