Rum: easy and delicious recipes for five cocktail classics

Keen to make your own Mojitos, Daiquiris and more besides? Laura Foster shows you how to use this complex and versatile spirit in an array of delicious mixed drinks

When it comes to spirits trends, rum’s star is on the rise. Consumer knowledge and appreciation of this hugely complex spirit has grown, and so too has the number of quality expressions and brands that are now available to buy.

One thing that has stood in rum’s way previously is its diversity. It is perhaps the most complicated of all spirits categories, thanks to its myriad flavours, styles and producing countries, each with their own rules and regulations; not to mention the fact that it can be made from molasses or sugarcane juice, and distilled using either a pot or column still.

Perhaps because of this, the categorisation of rum has historically been based on the colours white, golden and dark – but these give no indication of how a rum is made, what it’s made from, or what it tastes like. Experts are in the process of discussing how to officially categorise rum, but the jury’s still out.

While most rum is great for sipping neat, the category boasts some of the best cocktails in the pantheon of classics. And let me be clear that I’m not talking about your tropical tiki drinks served in Polynesian art-inspired mugs, adorned with kitsch umbrellas and over-the-top fruit garnishes.

As cocktail consultant Nate Brown says: ‘Tiki is rum, rum isn’t tiki. Tiki cocktails try to tell the false tropical story behind rum. They’ll be escapism-led with lots of fruit juices and

Lilt flavours, and a lot of showmanship, sweeteners, and smoke and mirrors.’

There are certainly no frills in the selection of drinks on the following pages – these recipes allow the rum to shine through, rather than hide behind the mixers and modifiers.

For mixing rum cocktails at home, you can make most drinks with two variants in your drinks cabinet. First up is a decent, unaged rum that offers complexity, which will be the foundation for your Daiquiris, Mojitos, Cuba Libres and Piña Coladas.

My go-to for years has been Plantation 3 Stars, which is a blend of spirits from Jamaica,

Mojito

Ubiquitous in the 1990s, the Mojito became a victim of its popularity and sank to obscurity over the past 10 to 15 years. It’s time to bring it back, however. It’s simply too delicious to ignore. The measurements here are very specific, but use them as a guide – taste the drink and add a little more of anything you think it needs.

Glass Highball

Garnish Mint sprig

Method Slap the mint leaves between your hands and drop them into the glass. Add the lime juice and sugar syrup, give the ingredients a quick stir, fill half the glass with crushed ice, pour in the rum, stir everything until thoroughly mixed, fill the rest of the glass with crushed ice, top with soda water and gently stir again. Garnish.

50ml unaged rum 25ml lime juice 15ml sugar syrup 12 mint leaves Soda water to top