When you’re first getting into spirits, be it from partaking in happy hour events, going out for drinks with suitors or spending time two-stepping to your favorite tunes by the bar in lounges, you might feel like you need to choose a team and stay on their bench. If you’re a vodka girl, that’s your drink and you stick beside it. Like whiskey on the rocks? You’re a loyal drinker. But what about rum? The unique taste of it, whether more sweet, woody or spicy, can be intimidating to some. However, August 16 is National Rum Day, so it’s the perfect opportunity to give rum another (or your first) try. Instead of taking suggestions from me, or leaning heavily on the ol’ rum and Coke combination, check out some tasty options you can try today and onward. Pick up a beloved rum, like a Bacardi, an Appleton Estate or the buzzy Ten to One, along with some of the following ingredients and toast to making every day (in moderation of course), National Rum Day.
Mai Tai
Ingredients
2 parts Appleton Estate 8-Year-Old Reserve
.5 parts fresh lime juice
.5 parts Orange Curaçao
.5 parts Orgeat (almond) syrup
Combine all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice (crushed and cubes). Shake until chilled and pour into a double old fashioned glass. Garnish with 1 lime shell and a fresh mint sprig.
Kiss & Tell
Ingredients
8 Mint leaves bruised in tin
1 oz Strawberry syrup
1 oz Lime
This sweet treat is courtesy of Downtown Miami’s rooftop destination, Giselle Miami. Build in tin and strain. Serve over a large ice cube. Garnish with ½ strawberry and mint sprig.
Coco-Politan
Ingredients
1 oz. RumHaven Coconut Rum
1.5 oz. New Amsterdam Lemon Vodka
1 oz. Cranberry juice
Squeeze of fresh lime wedge
Add ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously to combine/chill. Strain into chilled martini glass and garnish with expressed orange peel.
Ginger Piña Colada
Ingredients
1 ½ parts Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
1 part cream of coconut
¼ part pineapple juice
¾ homemade ginger syrup
Add Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice and ginger syrup to an empty mixing glass. Dry shake. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into highball or tiki glass. Fill with ice and garnish with candied ginger.
Mermaid Water
Ingredients
1 oz. Malibu Rum
1 oz. Captain Morgan
2 oz. Pineapple juice
1 oz. Blue Curaçao
Dash of Sprite
Garnish with mixed fruit
Made at South Carolina’s boutique hotel, The Inn on the Square, Mermaid Water is a must. Add the Malibu and Captain Morgan Rum into a glass and top with pineapple juice and a spritz of blue Curaçao. Finish off this drink with a dash of Sprite and garnish with mixed fruit.