Rum Cocktails
While many aged rums may be enjoyed straight, sometimes you just need pure joy in a glass - in the form of a rum cocktail. Here are some classic favorites along with some El Machete originals.
I use dashes, ounces, teaspoons for measurement simplicity.
Use fresh juice whenever possible. The difference between fresh juice (particularly lime and lemon) and the bottled stuff is huge. It's not just the difference between a great drink and a good drink, it can even make a great cocktail almost undrinkable.
Also, grenadine is pomegranate syrup, not red-colored high fructose fakery. Homemade grenadine (and orgeat, and falernum, etc.) is typically preferable to store-bought.
Coming soon: [Rum] Bronx, Caipirinha, Grog, Gigi-51, Macuá, Planter's Punch, Rum Runner, Scorpion, ti' Punch.
Enjoy!
Cuba LibreIngredients:
1.5 oz - gold (or spiced, or white) rum
4-5 oz - cola
1-2 tsp - lime juice
Preparation:
Pour the rum into a highball (or double rocks / old fashioned) glass filled with ice. Fill with cola. Quick half-stir. Squeeze a lime wedge over top and drop it in.
Variations:
Substituting with overproof rum yields a Cuban Missle Crisis.
For my self-titled Castro Killer, substitute the rum with coconut rum - then stir with your middle finger. The toast: "Pa' arriba, pa' abajo - ¡Fidel pa'l carajo!".
A Cuba Libre Cocktail shakes the rum, cola, and lime with added sugar, overproof Demerara rum, and ice - and is served in a chilled cocktail glass. Essentially a Daiquirí with coke and an extra kick.
Origin:
This is essentially the ubiquitious "rum & coke," which originated in Cuba after the Spanish-American War when Cuban and American soldiers first added Coca-Cola to their rum and lime drink to toast the freedom of Cuba.
Because of Castro, the Cuba Libre is also known as "La Mentira" or "The Lie" in Miami.
Coconut rum & coke is also fairly common, but hopefully the Castro Killer's name and stirring method catches on...
Cuba Libre on Wikipedia.
DaiquiríIngredients:
2 oz - white rum
1 oz - lime juice
1 oz - simple syrup (or gum syrup)
Preparation:
Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lime wedge or wheel. You may optionally rim glass with sugar.
Variations:
An El Floridita Daiquirí substitutes simple syrup for .75 oz maraschino liqueur and .75 oz grapefruit juice. For Hemingway's Papa Doble Daiquirí, start with an El Floridita Daiquirí and up the rum a bit to 3 or 4 oz. Garnish either with lime or grapefruit wedge/wheel.
Personally, I like to up the rum to 3 oz, keep the simple syrup, and add .5 oz maraschino liqueur and .5 oz grapefruit juice.
Simple syrup may also be substituted with grenadine, or grenadine may be simply added (which would, if Bacardi rum is used, make a classic Bacardi Cocktail).
Some like it on the rocks, not unlike a Caipirinha (with white rum instead of cachaca) or a Rum Rickey (without the club soda).
Blended Fruit Daiquirís, mixed in a blender using fresh fruits such as bananas or strawberries, are also popular and tasty.
Origin:
Though lime juice had been an ubiquitous partner of rum from the beginning, the Daiquirí as we more or less know it today is believed to have been originated in El Floridita bar in Havana, Cuba (and named after the beach of the same name near Santiago de Cuba).
Daiquirí on Wikipedia.
Dark 'N' StormyIngredients:
2 oz - dark rum (Gosling's Black Seal)
3 oz - ginger beer
1 tsp - lime juice (from lime wedge)
Preparation:
Build over ice in a rocks or lowball glass. Use Ginger Beer to taste (I usually use 3-4 oz). Garnish with lime wedge.
Variations:
While it could be theoretically made with any dark rum or ginger beer, the real deal is made with Gosling's Black Seal and Barritt's Ginger Beer. I find Bundaberg Ginger Beer makes a nice substitute if you can't find Barritt's.
Origin:
It's the official drink of Bermuda and Gosling's owns the international copyright to the drink's name (everywhere except Australia).
Dark 'N' Stormy on Wikipedia.
El FloriditaIngredients:
1.5 oz - white rum
.5 oz - sweet vermouth
.5 oz - lime juice
.75 tsp - grenadine
2 dashes - white creme de cacao
Preparation:
Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lime wedge or wheel.
Variations:
Many different ratios of ingredients exist as the drink known as El Floridita cocktail (sometimes called a "La Floridita"), but any major deviation to this balance might result in some funky tasting stuff.
I've seen this with muddled mint and crushed ice in a collins glass. To each his own, I guess.
This is considered a cousin to the Daiquirí, but should not be confused with an El Floridita Daiquirí.
Origin:
Like the simpler and more common Daiquirí, it was created in El Floridita bar in Havana, Cuba.
Ewok ElixirIngredients:
1.25 oz - unfiltered apple juice
1 oz - coconut rum
1 oz - apple brandy
1 oz - mango nectar
.5 oz - dark rum
.5 oz - triple sec (or 44 Cordial)
.25 oz - lemon (and/or lime) juice
.5 tsp - orgeat
dash - grenadine
Preparation:
Shake (or flash blend) all ingredients except dark rum with cracked ice and pour into a double rocks (or collins) glass. Float dark rum on top. Garnish with an lime wedge/wheel, cherry, or mint sprig.
Variations:
Instead of triple sec (or curaçao), try using 44 Cordial (orange & coffee rum-based liqueur - see link below) with a dash of blood orange bitters.
Origin:
El Machete original.
See Mixology Monday entry.
HurricaneIngredients:
3 oz - dark rum
1.5 oz - passion fruit syrup
1.5 oz - lemon juice
.25 oz - orange juice
Preparation:
Shake all ingredients well with ice. Strain into a hurricane (or pint) glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange (or pineapple) wedge and cherry.
Variations:
Pineapple juice, light rum, Galliano liqueur, bitters, grenadine, limes, maraschino liqueur, simple syrup - all make appearances in various vaersions of the Hurricane. The key ingredients, however, are the passion fruit, the dark rum, and citrus. When done right, it's a great drink.
[If you can't find passion fruit syrup (not the artificial corn syrup crap), make your own by dissolving 1/4 cup of passion fruit pulp and 1/2 cup of sugar in 1/2 cup water.]
Origin:
Created by Pat O'Brien in his New Orleans French Quarter bar in the 1940's as his entry in the Tiki craze. But even Pat O'Brien's bar no longer creates the "real deal," as their signature drink's popularity has driven them to use a powdered mix.
Hurricane on Wikipedia.
Mai TaiIngredients:
1 oz - gold rum
1 oz - white rum
.75 oz - dark rum
.75 oz - curaçao
.75 oz - lime juice
.5 oz - orgeat syrup
1-2 tsp - grenadine (or simple syrup)
Preparation:
Shake all the ingredients with crushed/cracked ice and pour into a double rocks (or tiki) glass without straining. Float the dark rum. Garnish with mint sprig (and optionally a cherry and pineapple wedge).
Variations:
The best variation replaces the rum with 2-3 oz of aged Jamaican rum, drops the curaçao and maybe the lime juice to .5 oz, and either eliminates the grenadine or swaps it out with rock candy syrup.
There are almost innumerable variations on the Mai Tai, many stemming from its disputed origin (see below). As with most Tiki drinks, different juices, syrups, and rums (including very specific regions) may be added or removed. The above variation is just my version of a standard Mai Tai, which for my tastes seems to work very nicely.
Origin:
The two legends of Polynesian rum drinks (see Tiki), Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber (both chiefly based in California), lay claim to creating the Mai Tai, though their two original recipies are quite different. The name, at least according to Trader Vic, comes from the Tahitian phrase one of Vic's friends said when she tried the drink for the first time: "Maita'i roa ae!" ("Out of this world - The Best!").
Mai Tai on Wikipedia.
[Rum] ManhattanIngredients:
3 oz - gold (or dark) rum
.75 oz - sweet vermouth
1-2 dashes - bitters
Preparation:
Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Optionally garnish with a cherry.
Variations:
The Rum Manhattan is also known as Pirate's Cocktail.
I usually prefer an El Presidente, which adds .25 oz of triple sec or curaçao (though some bars add pineapple juice) and a couple of optional dashes of real-deal grenadine. The El Presidente may also be made dry using dry vermouth instead of sweet vermouth and no grenadine. A Cuban Presidente replaces the dry version of El Presidente's gold (or dark) rum with white rum.
A couple of optional dashes of marashino liqueur can add some nice depth.
The traditional Manhattan cocktail uses rye whiskey.
A Latin Manhattan uses white rum and adds some dry vermouth.
Origin:
The Manhattan is believed to have originated in New York City, combining American Rye Whiskey, Italian Vermouth, and bitters.
The El Presidente originated in Cuba in honor of then-president Gerardo Machado (no relation - that I know of).
Manhattan on Wikipedia.
MojitoIngredients:
2 oz - white rum
2 oz - club soda or seltzer/carbonated water (NOT tonic)
1.5 oz - lime juice (approx. juice from a whole lime)
2-3 tsp - fine sugar (or 1.5 oz simple syrup or better yet some fresh guarapo)
mint leaves (small handful - about half the glass without shoving them in or from 2-3 sprigs)
Preparation:
Muddle the mint leaves, rum, lime juice, and sugar at the bottom of a collins glass (you're gently bruising the leaves to release their oils by pushing down and then twisting a quarter turn - you're not pulverizing them to pieces). Try not to muddle the actual squeezed lime (the rind & pith) as you will release a bitter flavor into the drink (though you can drop in the wedges post-muddle). Fill the glass about 3/4 of the way up with crushed ice and vigorously stir and combine the leaves and ice. Top off with club soda. Stir. Garnish with a mint spring and a lime wedge or two. Optionally add a sugar cane swizzle stick.
Variations:
A dash of bitters may be added to cut some of the tart and sweetness.
Substitute flavored rum and fresh fruit for the white rum and lime. For example, mango rum and fresh mango makes a Mango Mojito.
A Dirty Mojito simply uses gold rum and brown/raw/turbinado sugar instead. A Ginger Mojito uses ginger ale in place of club soda. A Mojito Royal replaces the club soda with champagne.
A Rum Rickey is essentially everything but the mint.
Some bars use store-bought mojito mix and lemon-lime cola. Report them to the proper authorities.
Origin:
The Mojito originated at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba. Traditionally made with yerba buena herb common in Cuba, the closest to it that is widely available in the U.S. is spearmint.
Mojito on Wikipedia.
[Rum] Old FashionedIngredients:
2-3 oz - aged rum
1 tsp - sugar (one sugar cube or equivalent simple syrup)
1-2 dashes - bitters
orange wheel
large slice, orange peel
Preparation:
Gently muddle the sugar, bitters and orange slice on the bottom of an old fashioned (or rocks, or whiskey) glass with just enough water to dissolve the sugar. Drop in a few choice ice cubes and stir. Pour only quality rum over top. Stir. Twist an orange peel over top and optionally garnish with a quality maraschino cherry (if it's one of those neon-red imitations, it's probably best to leave it on the napkin next to the glass).
Variations:
Using whiskey instead of rum.
You may replace the aromatic bitters with orange bitters. Sometimes a few drops of curacao are added, as well as a lemon and a splash of soda water. Too often an Old Fashioned is made poorly, usually by drowning the drink in water. I think the ice that melts from stirring adds enough water to soften the drink's edges.
Robert Hess of "The Cocktail Spirit" flares the orange peel with a match, almost caramelizing the orange oils and adding a very nice touch.
Origin:
Created as a whiskey drink (or more specifically as a Bourbon drink presumably in Kentucky), it is considered the first true "cocktail." Since its creation over a hundred years ago (some say over two hundred!), it has thankfully earned its place as a proper rum drink as well.
Old Fashioned on Wikipedia.
Piña ColadaIngredients:
1.5 oz - light rum
1 oz - dark rum
3-4 oz - pineapple juice
2 oz - cream of coconut
Preparation:
Blend all ingredients with ice and pour into a hurricane (or pint) glass. Optionally reserve the dark rum for floating. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and/or cherry.
Variations:
Condensed milk, cream, sweet & sour (lemon & lime juice), and soda water are sometimes added.
Piña Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri together is known as a Miami Vice.
A Staten Island Ferry is coconut rum and pineapple juice on ice.
Origin:
Though technically the original Piña Colada drink included neither coconut nor rum, the drink as we know it today was likely whipped up in Cuba pre-1950. Puerto Rico also lays claim to the creation of the Piña Colada, but you and I know better, don't we?
Piña Colada on Wikipedia.
Razel TovIngredients:
1.5 oz - raspberry rum
1.5 oz - Manishewitz blackberry wine
.25 oz - grenadine
1 oz - lemon-lime soda
sugar (optional, for rim)
Preparation:
Shake rum, kosher wine, and grenadine with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass (optionally rimmed with sugar). Top with soda. Garnish with a couple of fresh berries.
Variations:
You can skip the grenadine and up the rum to wine ratio, and/or add some white rum.
Origin:
El Machete original.
My wife, who is Jewish, introduced me to the wonder that is kosher wine (though she doesn't think too fondly of it). The drink came to me when sipping the blackberry version and the name comes from "Mazel Tov," which is Hebrew/Yiddish for "good fortune."
[Rum] SidecarIngredients:
1.5 oz - white (or aged) rum
1 oz - triple sec
1 oz - lemon juice
Preparation:
Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass, optionally rimmed with sugar. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Variations:
The traditional Sidecar cocktail uses brandy instead of rum.
A Boston Sidecar adds 1 oz of brandy to this recipe. A Between the Sheets also adds the brandy, but keeps all ingredients in equal parts.
Origin:
Its origin may be in dispute (England or France), but the original Sidecar was created for brandy (or cognac) and is considered a cousin of the Daiquirí.
Sidecar on Wikipedia.
Three KingsIngredients:
1 oz - gold rum
1 oz - Dulseda rum cream
1 oz - egg nog
1-2 tsp - homemade dulce de leche (optional)
dash - nutmeg
Preparation:
Stir all ingredients in a rocks glass until dulce de leche dissolves a bit. Add a couple of large ice cubes and stir. Grate fresh nutmeg over top.
Variations:
A half ounce of brandy may be added.
Origin:
El Machete original.
It's not the holidays until I've had some Three Kings.
ZombieIngredients:
1 oz - dark rum
1 oz - gold rum
1 oz - white rum
.5 oz - overproof Demerara rum
.5 oz - apricot (or apple) brandy
1 oz - pineapple juice
1 oz - papaya juice (or lemon juice)
.5 oz - lime juice
1-2 tsp - powdered sugar
.5 tsp - grenadine
dash - bitters
Preparation:
Shake everything except the overproof rum vigorously with a generous amount of crushed ice. Pour into a highball (or collins, or tiki) glass without straining. Float the overproof rum over top. Garnish with cherry and pineapple wedge.
Variations:
There are numerous (very, very many!) incarnations of the Zombie, utilizing different combinations of rums and juices (including grapefruit, passion fruit, lemon), as well as small quantities of falernum, orgeat, curacao, pernod, different types of sugars/syrups, and/or maraschino liqueur.
The zombie may also be blended.
Origin:
The Zombie is one of the quintessential tiki drinks, made in the 1930's and so named because of its surreptitious potency. Even Don the Beachcomber, its creator, had different incarnations of the Zombie as he tweaked and improved it through the years. A proper zombie is sweet, strong, and a bit complex. This recipe is my own twist on a couple of Don's Zombies. Feel free to experiment, everyone else has.
Zombie on Wikipedia.