Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice, which is then often aged in barrels of oak.
While rum is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, now it is produced in nearly every major sugar-producing region of the world, with world rum day also celebrated on 13 July every year.
According to the Drinks List 2024, the best-selling rum in the on-trade across the UK last year was Captain Morgans Spiced, followed by Bacardi Carta Blanca and Kraken Black Spiced Rum.
Champagne Pina Colada
First up, we’ve gone back to June 2023 to rediscover this Champagne Pina Colada recipe from East London cocktail bar Coupette.
Based in Bethnal Green, manager Andrei Marcu told the MA Coupette sold some 350 Champagne Pina Coladas per month last year, adding it was probably the bar’s most “successful” cocktail.
Offering light, creamy and exotic flavours of coconut and pineapple mixed with a triple rum blend the serve costs around £3.32 to create and retails at £13.
Read more about this cocktail, including a video demonstration on how to recreate it, here.
Equipment required:
- Blender
- Hand Blender
- Ice (cubed and crushed)
- Shaker
- Strainer
- Measures.
Ingredients:
- 10ml Havana Club three-year-old rum
- 10ml Kingston 62 White rum
- 5ml Trois Rivieres Cuvee D’ocean rum
- 35ml Pineapple juice
- 30ml Pineapple cordial
- 35ml Moet & Chandon Champagne
- 1.5 Balls of coconut sorbet
- Coconut shavings to garnish (optional)
Method:
- Add all ingredients, except Champagne, and three quarters of a glass of crushed ice to the blender and blend
- Fill glass with cubed ice and pour in champagne
- Pour blended mix over champagne
- Sprinkle with coconut shavings, if using, and serve
Mango Martini
Next, we have a Mango Martini recipe from Belgrove Rum, coming in at 11% ABV.
The cocktail could offer operators a gross profit margin of 77%, costing an average of £2.10 (excluding VAT) per serve to create with a recommended retail price of £11 per cocktail, founder Edmund Wood previously told the MA.
He said: “A delicious balance of flavours [make this cocktail special], you want to drink it all night.
“Fabulous cocktails [like this] can really make an operator stand out; the venue becomes a destination.”
Described as a smooth, sweet and well-balanced serve from Guyana, Belgrove Hazelnut rum is made with single-origin Demerara rum and all-natural flavours, boasting notes of toasted hazelnuts combined with cocoa and vanilla.
Read more about this recipe here.
Equipment required:
- Shaker
- Jigger
- Strainer
Ingredients:
- 40ml Belgrove Hazelnut Rum
- 15ml Cointreau
- 80ml Mango pulp or mango sorbet
- 15ml Lime juice
- Fresh slice of mango to garnish
Method:
- Combine the Belgrove Hazelnut Rum, Cointreau, mango pulp (or sorbet) and lime juice in a shaker with ice
- Shake for 10 seconds
- Strain into a martini glass
- Garnish with a slice of mango and serve
Funky Town cocktail
Last year, West Midlands cocktail bar Fox and Chance co-founder Blaise Bachelier shared how to make the venues rum-based Funky Town cocktail (10% ABV).
The Birmingham-based bar, which is number 39 on the Top 50 Cocktail Bars List, sold 1262 Funky Town Cocktails between 6 September 2022 and 21 March 2023, costing around £2.18 to create and retailing at £9 each.
Bachelier said: “This is essentially a fruity daiquiri. We enjoy making super tasty and simple cordials, and then pairing them with a spirit.
“Though you can strain the [cordial] through a filter before adding the sugar and acids, we opted not to so as to keep a bit of texture, like you would have with a fresh smoothie.
“[With this] we have taken two great flavours that work well together: tart kiwi and apples; and paired them with tasty rum. What makes this drink great is its simplicity.”
Read more about this recipe here.
Equipment required:
- Precision scales
- Juicer
- Mixing Jug
- Spoon
- Cocktail tins
- Strainer
- Jigger
Ingredients:
- 50ml white rum
- 50ml homemade apple and kiwi cordial (method below)
- 600g kiwi juice
- 300g apple juice
- 450g caster sugar
- 9g citric acid
- 4.5g malic acid
Method:
To make 1000ml of apple and kiwi cordial:
- Combine 600g kiwi juice, 300g apple juice, 450g caster sugar, 9g citric acid, 4.5g malic acid in a jug
- Stir until sugar and acids are dissolved then store in a clean bottle for up to one week
The cocktail:
- Shake the white rum with homemade apple and kiwi cordial
- Double strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass and serve
Transparency cocktail
Cardiff-based cocktail bar Lab 22, which is number 17 on the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list, sold between 50 and 60 Transparency cocktails per week last year at £9.50 per serve.
General manger Matthew Jones told the MA drinks like this could be easily adapted to suit guests needs, adding serves of this nature were a “smart move” for profit margins.
He said: “It's a clarified Piña Colada, and everyone loves Piña Coladas, right?
“The deceptive elements [make this cocktail stand out], taking flavours that guests around the world are used to, and presenting them in a way they may not have tried before; we also utilise waste as the garnish for this drink.
“We have tweaked it and sent it out as a spritz to guests before and it was absolutely amazing."
Read more about this recipe here.
Equipment required:
- Jug
- Cheese or Muslin cloth
- Hob
- Spoon
- Measuring cylinders
Ingredients:
- 40ml white rum of your choice
- 10ml coconut rum
- 50ml pineapple milk
- 5ml sugar syrup
Method:
To make the pineapple milk (enough for 40 cocktails):
- Heat 750g coconut milk with 250g soy milk on the hob for five minutes then take off the heat
- Slowly add 1kg pineapple juice in a thin stream and leave to refrigerate
- Once split, pass through the cheese cloth or muslin bag, bottle and refrigerate for up to two weeks
The cocktail:
- Marry all ingredients together
- Pour over ice in your chosen glass or bottle and refrigerate
- Serve with a garnish of your choice
- To take part in the next series of The Morning Advertiser's Drinks Masterclass email rebecca.weller@wrbm.com.
