At The Morning Advertiser’s Future Trends: Spirits event in London last autumn, data insight experts CGA predicted that golden rum would be the next big trend in the spirits category, outpacing gin in the next three years.
Although this prediction has not quite come to fruition just yet (CGA’s spring figures highlight rum as the second-best performing category after gin), there has been a definite upturn in the fortunes of the oak-aged spirit, with sales up 11% last year.
To celebrate National Rum Day on 16 August, The Morning Advertiser has picked its favourite rum-based cocktail that would improve any pub or bar’s offering.
The Dark and Stormy
This classic and straightforward cocktail claims to be the national drink of Bermuda, and although easy to make it shouldn’t be missing from any reputable cocktail menu.
Method: Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour in 60ml of dark rum. Top with ginger beer and add a squeeze of lime juice. Stir and garnish with a slice of lime.
Time to make: 2 minutes
Sell at: £5-7
El Presidente
The El Presidente rose to fame in Havana, Cuba during the 1920s, and quickly became the preferred drink of the Cuban upper class. This iconic cocktail is both refreshing and full of flavour.
Method: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add 50ml light rum, 25ml dry vermouth, 25ml dry curacao and a splash of grenadine. Stir until very cold, before straining into a chilled cocktail glass and garnishing with a twist of orange.
Time to make: 5 minutes
Sell at: £7-9
The Hurricane
Created in New Orleans during the 1940s, this super boozy rum-based concoction is so potent and easy to drink that many bars have a two-cocktail limit. This one’s for dancing.
Method: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add juice of ½ a lime, 50ml white rum, 50ml dark rum, 60ml passion fruit juice, 30ml orange juice, 1 tablespoon sugar syrup and 1 tablespoon of grenadine. Shake and strain into a fancy glass, and garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.
Time to make: 5 minutes
Sell at: £8-9