Rum made me do it! Try these fresh new cocktail recipes

As if we needed an excuse to crack open the rum, this weekend’s World Cocktail Day (13 May)! Shake up this trio of recipes from mixologist Lance Mayhew’s beautifully illustrated new book, Rum Made Me Do It, to get the party started.

Pineapple Fizz 

The Pineapple Fizz isn’t well known in modern times, but this is an easy drink that’s really worth discovering. Originally appearing in famed London barman Harry Craddock’s The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), we’ve updated this cocktail with the addition of lime juice to create a refreshing long drink that is perfect for warm summer evenings. 

Ingredients 

60ml (2fl oz) white rum 

15ml (½fl oz) lime juice 

30ml (1fl oz) pineapple juice 

15ml (½fl oz) Simple Syrup 

soda water, to top up a pineapple wedge, to garnish

Instructions 

In a cocktail shaker, combine the first four ingredients and add some ice. Shake vigorously and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top up the glass with soda water and garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Rum Sour 

Sours are one of the original families of cocktail drinks and are still extremely popular today. The first reference in print was in Jerry Thomas’ seminal cocktail book of 1862, How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon Vivant’s Companion, although the drink family was long established before this. While white rums provide a clean, crisp profile, try a rum with some age on it for a richer, fuller experience. To change things up, try straining the drink into a chilled martini glass instead of over ice for an elegant dinner party presentation.

Ingredients 

60ml (2fl oz) rum (any will do, but darker rums shine in this cocktail) 

45ml (1½fl oz) lemon juice 

30ml (1fl oz) Simple Syrup 

1 egg white (optional) 

a cherry, to garnish 

Instructions

Add the rum, lemon juice and Simple Syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into a clean glass. For a fluffier cocktail, add an egg white – discard the ice and pour the cocktail back into the shaker, then add the egg white and shake well for 30 seconds or so (dry shaking like this will help the egg white foam up to form a fluffy topping). Pour into an old fashioned glass filled with ice and garnish with a cherry.

New Orleans Punch

Rum combines with bourbon and raspberry liqueur to pack a punch in this alcoholic take on iced tea. Use cold tea for best results, as freshly brewed hot tea will result in a lukewarm glass of disappointment.

Ingredients 

45ml (1½fl oz) bourbon 

30ml (1fl oz) gold rum 

30ml (1fl oz) raspberry liqueur (i.e. Chambord) 

30ml (1fl oz) lemon juice 

90ml (3fl oz) cold black tea 

a lemon wheel, to garnish 

Instructions 

In a cocktail shaker, combine all the ingredients with some ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a highball glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

About the author 

Lance Mayhew has over 20 years’ experience in the world of cocktails and spirits. He is the former contributing writer for About.com (now The Spruce) on whisky and professional bartending. Lance’s cocktail creations have been showcased in publications such as MIX magazine, Imbibe, a-nd Left Coast Libations, and his bartending and mixology have been featured in The New York Times, Mix, and The Oregonian. In 2008, the Beverage Network named Lance one of America’s “Ten Trendsetting Mixologists.”

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