Our “Quick Guide” to Rum & Rum Cocktails

Our “Quick Guide” to Rum & Rum Cocktails
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El Presidente cocktail

Rum is a truly international spirit and creates some magical rum cocktails, including the Daiquiri, the Mai-Tai, the Cuba Libre, the Rum Swizzle and the El Presidente cocktail. Rum can be sipped, mixed or even dumped into a punch bowl as the centre-piece for any party. The exact origins of rum are disputed, however, its generally conceded that the first dram of rum was conceived somewhere in the Caribbean, probably Barbados. Today, rum is produced everywhere from Trinidad and Panama to California and Puerto Rico and there are now a huge variety of rum types, brands and rum cocktails in every good bar on the planet.

When categorizing rums, we can use two main groupings: rhum industriel and rhum agricole. Rhum industriel is best used to describe any rum which is made from sugarcane products, usually molasses. This type of rum covers the majority of rum found on shelves today. The second type of rum is known as rhum agricole and is a rarer seasonal method using freshly harvested sugarcane, which is pressed for its juice.

Within the rhum industriel category, rum can be further distinguished between aged or un-aged. Furthermore, rum can come in all kinds of colours, as follows:

bacardi logo

White Rum

Aged or unaged, white rum is essentially the clear stuff, which is most commonly used as the base for rum cocktails such as the Mojito and the Daiquiri. Of all the many white rums (also referred to as “light rum”) Bacardi is the most widely recognised, but other popular brands include Appleton Estate White Rum and Mount Gay White Rum.

 

 

Gold Rum

To make real gold rum the liquid must have spent some time inside a barrel lending it an amber colour and usually more complexity than light rum. Sometimes gold rum can replace white rum in cocktails to add another layer of depth and this more aged rum is often used to make the El Presidente cocktail. Well known brands of gold rum include Brinley Gold Rum.

Dark Rum

Dark rums have normally spent more time in wood casks with flavours that range from chocolate and tobacco to coffee and leather. Dark rums can often successfully replace whisky in cocktails such as the Old Fashioned and some of the most popular brands of dark rum include Cruzan Estate Dark Rum and Fernandes Dark.

Black Rum

Black Rum is regarded for its syrupy molasses flavour and black rum is well suited with ginger beer, ginger ale and lime. One of the most highly regarded black rums is Goslings Black Seal Rum.

Captain Morgan Rum

Spiced Rum

Spiced rums are normally sweeter than other rums and are laced with natural spices, caramel or artificial flavours. Captain Morgan is possibly the most well known Spiced Rum, however Sailor Jerrys Spiced Rum is also an excellent choice and particularly good for Tiki-style rum cocktails

Overproof Rum

Overproof rums are normally above 120 proof (or 60% alcohol by volume) and are perfect for floats on cocktails. One of the most popular Overproof Rums is Wray and Nephew.

 

We had a sit down at Social and Cocktail Towers to try to come up with our 5 Favourite Rum Cocktails, and after much discussion and deliberation, we have agreed on the following great concoctions:

1)Daiquiri

The classic daiquiri is actually a simple drink to prepare, using just three ingredients. Sweet and tart, this is still one of the most popular of all rum cocktails.

50 ml White Rum, 1 1/2 bar spoons Sugar, 25 ml Lime Juice, Lime slice

 

2)Dark N Stormy

One of the great rum cocktails, in which the sweetness of the rum and ginger is cut with the tart of the lime.

50 ml Dark Rum, 4 Lime quarters, 1 1/2 bar spoons Brown Sugar, splash Ginger Beer, Lime wedge

3)Mai-Tai

For many this is the king of Tiki-style rum cocktails. A beautiful fruity concoction which deserves to use the best quality rums you can find.

20 ml Dark Rum, 20 ml Light Rum, splash Demerara 20 ml Triple Sec, 20 ml Lime Juice, 10 ml Orgeat Syrup, Mint sprig, Orange wedge

4)El Presidente

Rum and orange combine beautifully in the El Presidente cocktail,  our favourite Daiquiri concoction.

50 ml Aged Rum, 12 1/2 ml Orange Liqueur, 10 ml Dry Vermouth, splash Grenadine, Orange Peel

5)Mojito

Deservedly one of the most popular mixed drinks in the world today. The combination of the mint, rum, sugar and lime works like alchemy!

50 ml White Rum, 8 Mint leaves, 12 1/2 ml Sugar Syrup, 25 ml Lime Juice, 2 Mint Sprigs

 

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Written by Guest Author

Posted: September 9, 2012