"There's naught, no doubt, so much the spirit calms as rum and true religion." Lord Byron
It's summertime now and therefore, every day is rum day, hooray! Rum is one of best spirit to drink during the hot months. The pirates of the Caribbean regarded it as their most precious treasure.
As there's a global day dedicated to the sweet molasses spirit (mark your diaries with 16 August, readers), we're taking a look at some different ways of using it. Cheers to that!
Pack a Punch, Planter's style
On a baking hot day nothing can beat a rum-sugar-citrus drink. And what better version to have than one that has its own rhyme: "One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak." Not one for the nursery rhyme books, eh? Perfect for the bartender in you though! Make it with one part citrus juice (to keep it classic use lime), two parts sugar, three parts rum and four parts water. Pour into a glass of ice and garnish with a slice of fruit and a cocktail umbrella.
Add some moxie to a mojito
What's better than a mojito? One with a summer twist and kick of course! A mojito is known for its five ingredients of rum, sugar, mint leaves, lime juice and sparkling water, but the La Plage restaurant at the Tom Beach Hotel in St Barth has come up with the perfect recipe to add some peppery pep to the standard mojito by adding red chilli pepper. Muddle some mint leaves and chili pepper in a glass. Add ice followed by the rums, coconut cream milk (for a tropical twist), and brown sugar. Squeeze in some lime juice and use a spoon to mix all the ingredients together. Top with a splash of sparkling water or soda. Garnish with a mint sprig and chili pepper slice.
Ingredients
1.5 oz Havana Rum (3 year aged)
.5 oz or dash of Malibu coconut rum
3 lime slices
6 fresh mint leaves, ripped/broken apart
1 oz coconut cream milk (Coco Lopez brand or other)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 thin slices red chili pepper
Dash and splash it in your desserts and sweets
Be still beating hearts - we've discovered that there's such a thing as a strawberry daiquiri cake in existence thanks to Ellen and Jaqueline of Bake It With Booze fame. The recipe calls for white or coconut rum, lime juice and zest and sugar and butter galore! Cut yourself a slice, sit back and devour what is clearly the edible love child of Betty Crocker and Ernest Hemingway.
Do the Caribbean rum trail
Rum makes the world taste more fun and at one point, it made the world go round...at least it did for those that sailed the high seas, i.e. debauched naval officers and ragamuffin pirates! The spirit has played a big part in Caribbean culture and still does today. Take a virtual sailing trip around the islands using the interactive rum map by Coconut Bay Resort and discover the array of different rum distilleries there are on the islands, a bit of history and the rums they produce. Be sure to check out any distilleries that may do rum tours. They provide a potted history lesson and for being a A* student, you'll likely get a rum tasting. Boy, if only all awards were like this!
Rummy good reads
We've made out that rum is the social of most drinks and we'd be right, but that does in no way mean you can't enjoy the liquor when you're on your lonesome. On a cold rainy day make your coffee a calypso one (add rum) and curl up in your favourite chair and keep warm while whiling away the rainy hours. Or if you like your rum cold, simply pour yourself a measure in a glass full of ice, give it a couple of swirls, head outside to lie back on a deckchair (or hammock if you have one). Lose yourself in a book. May we suggest The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson, Cheerful weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey (about a bride who turns to a bottle of rum and gets truly sozzled) or absolutely anything by Ernest Hemingway.