THANKS to the new golden era of cocktails and the premiumisation of spirits, rum is now taking its rightful place next to gin, vodka and whisky.
No longer the poor relation, the beachcomber with a kitsch paper parasol resting on the rim of the glass, the pirate grog of old.
Open season for rum to become more than just a holiday fling - a sundowner that loses its glow once you’ve tired of island life - this spirit, distilled from sugar cane, is enjoying a renaissance, with UK rum sales hitting £1 billion for the first time last year.
But what’s your style? White or gold, aged or spiced? In keeping with the trend for elevated cocktails (the premium rum segment is growing 24%, year on year), we’ve rounded up four amber rums that can be sipped neat, but also work beautifully as the base spirit for you to build around. Give these recipes a go...
1 Especial Cuba Libre
With a summer makeover inspired by Cuban street culture, Havana Club Anejo Especial’s (£18.95, 70cl, TheWhiskyExchange.com) new label has vibrant blue and red edges, tree rings, oak barrels and a sand timer to channel the brand’s double aged maturation method. A golden rum with notes of vanilla and caramel, it marries beautifully with the flavours of cola; a simple but spirited classic.
Ingredients: 50ml Havana Club Especial, 100ml Fever-Tree Madagascan Cola, large lime wedge.
Method: Fill a highball glass with quality ice cubes. Add the rum, top with cola. Squeeze the juice of a lime wedge into the glass and garnish with another lime wedge.
Note: The lime is a crucial ingredient, as it lightens and evens out the sweetness of the drink.
2 Bloody Death
With its rich, pirate past, spiced rum has become a real thing in Cornwall, where Dead Man’s Fingers (£22.95, 70cl, 31Dover.com) is made with a combination of Caribbean rums, bottled and blended in this seafaring town. Dangerously smooth, with cinnamon, nutmeg, orange, caramel and vanilla notes, you’ll definitely want to try this spicy twist...
Ingredients: 50ml Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced, 90ml tomato juice, 10ml cranberry juice, 10ml lemon juice, 10ml Worcestershire Sauce, pinch of sea salt.
Method: Half fill a high ball with ice. Add the ingredients, stir slowly and garnish with lemon slices, cucumber slices and twist of black pepper.
3 Bacardi Cuatro Air Mail
From Puerto Rico with love, champagne chimes with the honey, vanilla and spicy notes in Bacardi Anejo Cuatro 4 Year Old (£22.95, 70cl, TheWhiskyExchange.com) to create this refreshingly good, high-end cocktail to bring some sparkle to your rum fest.
Ingredients: 30ml Bacardi Anejo Cuatro, 15ml honey water (2 parts honey, 1 part hot water, 1 part sugar syrup), 15ml fresh lime, champagne to top.
Method: Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the rum, honey water and lime. Shake vigorously and double strain into a chilled flute. Top with champagne and garnish with discarded orange zest.
4 Colombian Espresso Martini
What’s not to love about this golden rum – that stirs the emotions with its name alone, let alone its taste? La Herchicera (£44.75, 70cl, TheWhiskyExchange.com) means ‘enchantress’ in Spanish, and this Colombian beauty is a blend of rums aged between 12-21 years to create its distinctive, dry, woody character, with rich aromas of prunes, espresso and cacao. Perhaps that’s the reason it works so well in a trendy espresso martini.
Ingredients: 45ml La Hechicera Rum, 22.5ml coffee liqueur, 22.5ml fresh espresso coffee (ideally use Colombian mild arabica for the perfect balance).
Method: Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the ingredients, shake vigorously and double strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans.
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