5 Classic Rum Cocktails Reinvented

By Chilled Magazine

Everything old is new again. In the cocktail world, this adage shines through every day.

Instead of looking back, bartenders look forward, taking traditional recipes and making them their own. For summer, rum is the ideal way to breathe new life into old drinks. Grog, the French 75, the Daiquiri, the Swizzle, and the Daisy. All here in bright, rich, new form.

Mr Menottis Cold Coffee Grog

Mr Menottis Cold Coffee Grog

Mr. Menotti’s Cold Coffee Grog

Courtesy of Ryan Wainwright, Terrine, Los Angeles

Grog may have been the pirates’ favorite tipple, but even high seas mercenaries need a nice dose of caffeine every once in awhile.

Ingredients:

  • 5 oz. Cold Brew Coffee (Best Quality Available; Wainwright Uses Menotti’s)
  • 2 oz. 6-Rum Blend*
  • 1 oz. Toasted Vanilla Bean Syrup
  • Jelinek Fernet Liqueur/Varnelli Caffe Mokka Liqueur-Infused Whipped Cream

Preparation: For whipped cream, use a small amount of Fernet and Caffe Mokka to taste with whipping cream; whip until thick. Toast vanilla bean in a pan until aromatic; cool and allow to infuse in simple syrup. Combine first three ingredients in a Collins glass with ice. Top with Jelinek Fernet/Caffe Mokka-whipped cream.

*Six-Rum Blend:

To taste, mix together Chairman’s Spiced Rum, Atlantico RSV, and Skippers Dark Rum, then add a small amount of Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, Flor de Cana 7yr., and Hamilton’s Guyana 86.


Old Cuban

Old Cuban

Old Cuban

Courtesy of Eleven Madison Park, NYC

This take on a French 75 spotlights rum and adds a few additional ingredients, mint and bitters, to complement the sugar cane spirit.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
  • 3/4 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
  • 3/4 oz. Simple Syrup
  • 6 Mint Leaves
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • Top with Champagne

Preparation: Add all ingredients, except Champagne, to a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into glass, then top with Champagne.


Pineapple Mint Daiquiri

Pineapple Mint Daiquiri

Photo Courtesy of Diplomatico

Pineapple Mint Daiquiri

Courtesy Diplomatico Rum

The standard three ingredient daiquiri is brightened up even more with pineapple and mint, then deepened with two kinds of rum.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 oz. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Rum
  • 1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
  • 5 Large Chunks Fresh Cut Pineapple
  • 5 Fresh Mint Leaves
  • Pineapple Wedge, Lime Wheel, and Mint Sprig for Garnish

Preparation: In a cocktail shaker, muddle pineapple chunks, mint leaves, and simple syrup for 30-35 seconds. Add fresh lime juice, rum, and ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled coupe glass, garnish with pineapple wedge, lime wheel and mint spring.


Rum Swizzle

Rum Swizzle

Photo Courtesy of Ciaran O’Connor

Rum Swizzle

Courtesy of Tanner Smith’s House of Cocktails

Go old school with a swizzle. This traditional long drink topped with ginger beer is both refreshing and satisfying.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. Dark Rum (Recommended Owney’s)
  • 1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1 bar spoon Lemon Juice
  • Ginger Beer, to Top
  • 3 dashes Aromatic Bitters
  • Dark Rum, to Top (Mount Gay Recommended)

Preparation: Combine first three ingredients in a Collins glass. Top with ginger beer, add crushed ice, then top with bitters and dark rum.


Savoy Daisy

Savoy Daisy

Photo Courtesy of Diplomatico

Savoy Daisy

Courtesy of Diplomatico Rum via the Savoy

Direct from the Savoy hotel itself, this modernized dasiy was created by bartender Erik Lorincz. This version uses only Diplomatico (both Reserva Exclusiva and Reserva); the original used Bacardi 8 year in place of the 1/4 ounce Reserva.

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
  • 1/4 oz. Diplomático Reserva
  • 2 oz. Ruby Port
  • 3/4 oz. Lemon Juice
  • 1/4 oz. Muscovado Sugar Syrup
  • 1/4 oz. Grenadine
  • Orange Twist, for Garnish

Preparation: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the ingredients and shake vigorously. Strain and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange twist.

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