Rum Punch
the recipe to start with
Remember the old punch rule: one part sour, two parts sweet, three parts strong, four parts weak.
Shake the rum, lime juice, syrup and pineapple juice with plenty of ice for 12 seconds.
Strain into a tiki or long drink glass filled with crushed ice.
Drop the bitters onto the ice and garnish with pineapple, mint and a lime wheel.
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Which rum for which cocktail
White rum is neutral and light; use it when the cocktail is all about freshness. Mojito, Daiquiri, Piña Colada. Gold rum has spent a few years in barrels and brings vanilla and caramel; ideal for punch and anything with fruit juice. Dark rum is full-bodied, molasses-like and sometimes smoky - the rum you float on top of a Mai Tai or use in a Dark 'n Stormy. And overproof rum, above 60 percent, is not a base but an accent: half a centiliter is enough. If you buy one bottle, choose gold rum; it can handle the most.
The right glass
Rum cocktails call for volume. Most are long drinks with lots of ice and juice, so allow for 45 cl or more; in a small glass, the combination of juice, rum, and garnish does not come into its own. For tropical recipes, a tiki glass or tiki mug is the classic choice: they are made for crushed ice and an over-the-top garnish, which is exactly the point with this genre. For sharper classics like the Daiquiri, choose a coupe instead. Not sure? A 47 cl highball glass can handle almost anything.
Tiki Glass 45 cl
Tiki Glass Skull 70 cl
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The right tools
For a rum cocktail, besides the glass, you use a Boston shaker, a wooden muddler, a jigger for precise measuring, and a citrus juicer. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 4 bar tools together € 79,75.
What do you make these rum cocktails with?
For these rum cocktails, you need the right base. Well-known bottles include Captain Morgan and Don Papa. On each drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, how it tastes, which cocktails it pairs with, and which glass you need.
Sixteen rum cocktails
Which three bottles to start with
With three bottles, you can cover the eight recipes on this page: a white one for cocktails with white rum that rely on freshness, a gold one as a workhorse, and a dark one for tiki recipes. Anyone searching English recipes will come across the same classification as white rum cocktails and dark rum cocktails; in Dutch, the latter group is also called brown rum cocktails. Spiced rum falls outside those three because it is already flavored with vanilla and spices and overpowers a Daiquiri, while it works nicely with cola.
What rum cocktails have in common
Almost all rum cocktails revolve around the same three forces: rum, citrus and something sweet. Once you understand that balance, you can adjust every recipe on this page to your own taste. If you prefer your drinks dry, reduce the syrup by half a centiliter; if your lime is exceptionally sour, you can add a little more. Always taste in the shaker before straining, because afterward you can only dilute it further. Freshly squeezed lime juice gives you more flavor improvement than upgrading your bottle of rum.
Frequently asked questions
Which glass do you use for rum cocktails?
For tropical recipes, use a tiki glass or long drink glass of 45 cl or more. Browse our tiki glasses and long drink glasses.
Which rum should you buy if you only get one?
Gold rum. It works in punch, tiki and most long drinks, and is neutral enough to carry a Cuba Libre too.
What is the difference between rum and rhum agricole?
Regular rum is distilled from molasses, while rhum agricole is made from freshly pressed sugarcane juice. The latter is grassier and sharper, delicious in a Ti' Punch but too pronounced for most classics.
Why is there crushed ice in tiki recipes?
Crushed ice cools faster and dilutes more, which is the point with tiki, because those cocktails are sweet and strong at the same time. Without that dilution, they become syrupy.
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