Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Start the Year Off Right: 5 Delicious Rum Cocktails That Benefit Your Health

Sam Slaughter
By

start the year off right 5 delicious rum cocktails that benefit your health cinnamon feat
Image used with permission by copyright holder
With a new year upon us, many out there have made resolutions to eat healthier, drink less, and generally attempt to be better people. These resolutions are all well and good…until it comes to the ones that involve no drinking for the month of January. This, friends, just isn’t right. Giving up drinking for a month means losing out on 31 different happy hour opportunities. It means losing out on 4 Sunday Fundays. It means sounding somewhat pretentious when going out with friends for an entire month.

Instead of missing out (or sounding holier than thou for a little while), check out this collection great rum cocktails—not only are they delicious, but their ingredients pack an extra punch of vitamins and nutrients to make you feel happier and healthier in the new year.

Recommended Videos

Big Green Bloody
(Created by Head Bartender Dave Danger and available at Kimoto Rooftop, Brooklyn, NY)

Method: build in large rocks glass or Collins glass. Garnish with banana or fried plantain chip.

*Bloody Mix (in quart container):

  • 15 oz tomatillo juice (4:1 water to paste)
  • 10 oz green tomato juice (4:1 water to paste)
  • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 2 oz fresh lime juice
  • 5 oz hot sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic puree
  • 3 Tbsp fresh grated horseradish
  • 5 Tbsp celery salt (if you are concerned about sodium, substitute ground celery seed)
  • 5 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper

**Acai Syrup (in quart container):

  • 16 oz Acai juice
  • 16 oz Sugar (For healthier option, use sugar substitute)
  • 1 tsp orange blossom water

Method: Heat Acai juice and sugar in small pot until sugar dissolves (do not boil). Remove from heat and add orange blossom water.

Apple Cider Light & Shifty

  • 2 oz Caliche Rum
  • 2 oz Apple Cider (1/2 pressed apple)
  • 2 oz Be Mixed Zero-Calorie & Sugar Free “Margarita” Cocktail Mixer
  • 3 slices muddled fresh ginger
  • Dash ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt

Method: Shake all ingredients over ice until well chilled. Strain into an ice-filled glass. Garnish with apple wedge.

Related: Healthy Cocktails? Health Yeah!

Pomegranate Rum Punch

  • 4 cups pomegranate juice
  • 1 cups Lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup Honey syrup (1:1 water to honey)
  • One 750-milliliter bottle Caliche Rum
  • 1 cup fresh berries, pomegranate seeds
  • Lemon wheels, for garnish
  • Ice, for serving

Method: Combine the pomegranate juice, lemonade and rum in a large punch bowl and stir well to incorporate. When ready to serve, add large ice cubes to float, stir well and then chill for at least 15 minutes. Garnish with the berries and lemon wheels. Serve over ice in punch or rocks glasses.

Miso Banana
(Created by Mixologist Tyson Buhler, Death & Co, New York City)

  • 2oz banana-miso Caliche Rum
  • 1oz lime
  • .5 turmeric syrup
  • .25 Barrows Intense Ginger liqueur

Method: Build over ice and stir.

Yuzu Ginger
(Created by Mixologist Shinya Yamao, Piora, New York City)

  • 5oz Caliche Rum (premium Puerto Rican, aged white rum)
  • 2/3oz Barrows Intense Ginger Liqueur
  • 1/2oz Green Chartreuse
  • Splash Yuzu juice
  • 1dash orange bitters
  • 5pc Basil leaves
  • Fill with tonic

Method: Mix ingredients together. Pour over ice and fill with tonic.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
We know the most popular cocktails — Try these underrated drinks instead
Try some alternatives to the most popular cocktails
Cocktails

Recently, we wrote an article about the 10 most popular cocktails in the US. Not surprisingly, it was littered with classic drinks like the Mojito, Margarita, Old Fashioned, and Moscow Mule. But drinking cocktails isn’t a popularity contest. Just because many people seem to enjoy Espresso Martinis doesn’t mean you have to stop drinking your classic Dirty Martini.

But, if you take a moment to peruse the list of the 10 most popular drinks, you might see a few you like and others you aren’t sure about. That’s okay. Lucky for you, we’re here to help. That’s why today we’re all about the underdogs.

Read more
How to start your own home bar: the tools and mixers
the best home bar glassware version 1612854960 for your 2021

So you're building up your home bar. You've got the essential spirits in. You've added a selection of liqueurs and bitters to combine them with. Now, it's time to add the finishing touches. From mixers to tools to glasswear, we're rounding up everything else you'll need to turn a corner of your kitchen into a great home bar.
Speaking of the kitchen – this is, in my experience, the absolute best place for a home bar. While I love a good bar cart for a living room (or even an office, if you have that kind of job!) these are really more decorative than a practical place to mix drinks. The problem with using bar carts for serious cocktail making is twofold: One, the surfaces are usually too low, at below hip height, so you'll be bending over uncomfortably while you try to make your drinks. That's not chic, and it's hard on your back too. Instead you want something that's counter level, hence opting for the kitchen. The second issue is access to ice and a sink. Mixing serious cocktails requires a large amount of ice and frequent washing of glasses and tools. Sure, you can get an attractive ice bucket for your bar cart, and that certainly makes a fun decorative accessory. But you'll still be running back and forth to the kitchen to use the sink all the time anyway.
If you love the style of a bar cart, I certainly wouldn't want to stop you having one. They are great fun, and stylish to boot. I have a bar cart myself in my living room, which I love and use for very simple mixed drinks like negronis (though even then, you still have to go and fetch ice every time you want a drink). It's a great place for occasional special bottles, particularly beautiful glasswear, cocktail books, and other decorative accessories.
But for serious cocktail making, you want an area of clear counter space, near to a sink and to a freezer full of ice, and with easy access to all your bottles and tools. I find a small kitchen island perfect for this purpose, tucked into a corner of the kitchen near the appliances. Store bottles and equipment on the lower shelves of the island or on wall-mounted shelves to save space, and make sure you have a lamp or decent overhead lighting so you can see what you're doing while you mix. You'll want a small chopping board as well for slicing citrus and other fruit, and a small, sharp knife that you can borrow from your kitchen equipment.
Then it's time to turn your attention to home bar tools.

Essential home bar tools

Read more
Big Green Egg brings back a fan-favorite item for a limited time
However spend your evenings outdoors, the Big Green Egg Chiminea is there to help keep things warm
The Big Green Egg Chiminea.

Love good times by the fire on a chilly night? Want to enjoy a few drinks in a toasty spot after a long day at work? Of course, we all do. But throwing some logs in a pit in the ground doesn't quite do it. If you want a cozy evening, Big Green Egg brings the wow with the release of a special Chiminea to celebrate 50 years in business, and it will take your gathering around the fire to a whole new level.
The Big Green Egg update

Big Green Egg has been the go-to for outdoor grillers and smokers looking for an outdoor cooker for decades. But if you want to hang out in the fresh air without cooking, the Chiminea is what you need. Freestanding fireplaces aren't new, and Big Green Egg isn't trying to reinvent them. The vintage version from 1999 is the starting point, with upgrades worthy of a 50th anniversary.
What's cracking with this egg
If it's not broken, don't fix it, right? But even the littlest changes will make something feel fresh. For those who aren't the best at starting a fire and keeping it going, the Chiminea comes with Lava Rocks to keep the flames roaring more evenly and for longer. Made from NASA-grade ceramic, the quality isn't something to worry about, either. And, yes, it's still in that gorgeous, signature deep green color. 

Read more