Rum is quite possibly the most versatile spirit and used to create some of the most delicious cocktails favoured by many discerning drinkers around the world. Make the perfect Cuba Libre to sip on sunny evenings, wow your friends with a Mai Tai or enjoy a Hurricane with your friends and family. You can find a cocktail for every season, every occasion and everyone right here.
Daiquiri
If there is one cocktail that most bartenders acknowledge as the king of rum cocktails, it is the Daiquiri. The simple mix of rum, lime, and sugar is the trinity of ingredients that make up the foundation for many exotic drinks such as the Planters Punch, The Mai Tai and even the Mojito.
The drink was supposedly invented by an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox, who worked in a village called Daiquiri in Cuba at the time of the Spanish American War during the late 1890’s. Originally the drink was served in a tall glass packed with cracked ice. A teaspoon of sugar was poured over the ice and the juice of one or two limes was squeezed over the sugar. Two or three ounces of white rum completed the mixture. The glass was then frosted by stirring with a long-handled spoon. Later the Daiquiri evolved to be mixed in a shaker with the same ingredients but with shaved ice. After a thorough shaking, it was poured into a chilled coupe glass.
Consumption of the drink remained localised until 1909, when a Lucius W. Johnson, a U.S. Navy medical officer, tried Cox’s drink. Johnson subsequently introduced it to the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C., and drinkers of the Daiquiri increased over the space of a few decades. During the US prohibition, Americans flocked to Cuba to drink, and the Daiquiri became even more famous. It was one of the favourite drinks of writer Ernest Hemingway and U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Today the Daiquiri comes in all shapes and sizes, from flavoured to frozen. From straight up, to on the rocks. And whichever way you choose, it should be cold, refreshing, light and easy to drink with a balance of sweet and sour.
Ingredients
50ml Equiano Light or white rum
25ml fresh lime juice
15ml Agave nectar/syrup
Method
Shake all of the ingredients with plenty of ice. Strain into a martini glass or champagne coupe. Garnish with the oils & twist of an orange peel.
Mai Tai
Probably the most well-known Tiki cocktail and favoured by both bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts alike.
Like many cocktail stories there is some controversy over the origins of the Mai Tai. Is the Q.B Punch from Donn Beach – Beachcomber Bar – the base for this cocktail or was
Victor Bergeron – Trader Vic – the creator? It’s no secret that Vic copied Don’s bar and restaurant style which we now know as Tiki so anything is possible, but one thing we know for sure is Trader Vic’s recipe has stood the test of time and it is his recipe that made the Mai Tai popular all around the world.
A fun fact! Awarded a Guinness World record in 2008, the Merchant Hotel in Belfast boasts having sold the most expensive cocktail. The hotel managed to source the very rare 17year old Wray & Nephew rum used in the original Trader Vic’s Mai Tai recipe and sold the decadent tipple for the princely sum of £750. It was a sell-out and according to the hotel, ‘Those lucky enough to sample this cocktail have confirmed that it was worth every penny.’
For this cocktail we’ve gone with a twist on the classic recipe. Unique and quite different however, everyone agrees it works and tastes great!
Ingredients
30ml No Name Spiced Mango Rum
20ml Spiced Gin
20ml Mango juice
10ml Lime juice
10ml Mango syrup
Chilli flakes
Spoonful of mango chutney
A poppadom
A slice of mango
Method
Shake all ingredients with ice and double strain into a champagne flute. Garnish with a slice of mango and a poppadom
Piña Colada
The iconic Piña Colada is the official drink of Puerto Rico, created in 1954 at the Caribe Hotel in San Juan by bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero. Piña Colada, meaning strained pineapple, is the most popular rum based cocktail. Who needs a sun-kissed beach to enjoy this delicious creamy cocktail?
Ingredients
60ml Coco Reàl
45ml white rum
60 ml pineapple juice
Method
Combine all ingredients in a blender carafe. Blend until smooth and pour into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and cherry.
Rum Old Fashioned
This very old cocktail dates back to the 1880’s and was originally made with bourbon or rye whiskey. The Rum Old Fashioned is a twist on this classic cocktail and some say it has more depth of flavour.
For this cocktail, we wanted to take a classic recipe and upcycle it into the modern day! Of course, we couldn’t just chuck some ice & sugar in, give it a stir, and call it a day. We worked with the Witch Kings to develop a ginger syrup as a replacement for sugar in the original Old Fashioned recipe. Therefore, taking ten minutes to make an Old Fashioned is not necessary for this build, as such a long stir-time is normally to ensure the sugar has fully dissolved. Though the ice must still dilute the spirit appropriately during construction, this is a straightforward and delicious recipe you can use to elevate almost any rum.
Ingredients
50ml Saint James Rhum VSOP or Trash & Treasure
12.5ml Ginger Syrup
Orange peel for garnish
Method
Add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
*Optional: Add two dashes of bitters
