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

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The Best Rum Drinks for Every Season

Sam Slaughter
By

rum cocktail
Rum is a beautiful spirit because it is malleable. In the time it takes you to walk down the liquor store aisle, you can go from nice silver or white rums that bring summer punches and mojitos to life to darker, spiced rums that fortify you when the temperature starts to dip.

We’ve gone back through our archives and picked out some of our favorite rum drinks and organized them based on seasonal appropriateness. Check them out below–you’re sure to find one for any time of year.

Related Videos

Winter

buttered maple cider

Salty Maple Buttered Cider

  • Maldon salt (or Jacobsen Salt, if you can find it)
  • Half of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon softened butter
  • 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 vanilla bean pod, seeds scraped out
  • 4 ounces dark rum
  • 8 ounces apple cider

Method: Scatter Maldon salt on a small plate. Rub the rim of two heatproof glasses or mugs with the lemon half, then dip in salt. Combine the butter, maple syrup, and vanilla bean seeds in small bowl. Set aside. Combine rum and cider in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour into prepared glasses, then top each with half of the butter. Serve immediately.

Related

Paradise Stout

  • 3 oz Sam Adams Nitro Coffee Stout
  • 1 oz Jamaican Rum
  • 1 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry
  • 1 whole egg
  • 2 dashes Chocolate bitters

Method: Dry Shake, hard shake, strain into snifter and top with nitro stout. Garnish with grated nutmeg

Spring

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.

Siam Daiquiri

  • 1 part Bacardí Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron
  • ½ part Kaffir Lime Juice
  • 1 tsp Aromatic simple syrup*

Method: Mix ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker, shake vigorously and serve in a chilled coupe.

*Aromatic Simple Syrup 

  • 1 cup water
  • 12 Thai basil leaves
  • 3 Coriander seeds
  • ¼ Sliced Jalapeño 
  • 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves (if available)
  • 1 cup Sugar 

Method: Bring to a boil, steep 15 minutes, strain and cool.

Summer

Cruzan Black Diamond Swizzle
(Created by Jane Danger, NYC, pictured above)

  • 1 1/2 parts Cruzan Black Strap Rum
  • 1/2 part Bitter Red Liqueur
  • 3/4 part Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1/2 part Simple Syrup
  • 2 Fresh Strawberries

Method: Muddle two strawberries in the bottom of a Belgian beer glass with the red bitter liqueur and fill with cracked or crushed ice. Then, in a cocktail shaker combine fresh lime juice and simple syrup. Whip and shake with no ice. Pour lime juice and cane mixture over ice, and fill again as needed. Gently float Cruzan Black Strap Rum on top. Garnish with berries and lime. 

Summer Love

  • 2 oz. Jumbie Coconut Splash
  • 1½ oz. Elderflower Liqueur
  • Splash of Lime Juice
  • 3 Strawberries

Method: Muddle two strawberries with a splash of water.  In a shaker with ice, add liquids.  Shake well, strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with remaining strawberry.

Autumn

mischief-night

Mischief Night

  • 2 parts Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
  • ½ part fresh lemon juice
  • 1 part Grade-A Vermont maple syrup
  • 1 ½ parts fresh orange juice
  • Seasonal pilsner (to taste)

Method: Build ingredients in empty shaker, add ice, shake and strain into chilled pint glass or desired beer mug (no ice). Top with a seasonal pilsner of your choosing.

Dark and Stormy

  • 2 oz black rum
  • .75 oz lime juice
  • 5 oz ginger beer
  • lime wheel

Method: Add rum and lime juice to shaker and shake hard. Pour into a Collins glass. Add ice and ginger beer. Stir and top with a lime wheel.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
The best Irish whiskeys come in these 12 bottles
Looking for a great Irish whiskey to try? Start with this proper list of a dozen best bets.
whiskey bar

Ireland knows a thing or two about whiskey. After all, it's home to the oldest commercial whiskey distillery in the world, dating back to 1608. But with such a rich heritage and plethora of options, where should you direct your glass?

Well, Irish whiskey is actually a pretty manageable category, unlike the endless seas of, say, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon or Scotch. Despite its massive popularity, Ireland hosts a relatively small amount of distilleries. But there's plenty of variation and quality within that span and we have our favorites.

Read more
How to make a caipirinha, a perfect day drink
Caipirinha: This refreshing and sweet Brazilian cocktail is amazing and a surefire hit
Cascadian-Caipbeerinha

 

Novo Fogo Cascadian-Caipbeerinha.

Read more
Warm up with these 10 stellar Tiki cocktails
From tropical fruit to vibrant colors, these delicious Tiki drinks will knock your socks off
mai tai

Tiki culture is a wealth of riches, not to mention elaborate drinks. For the out of touch, it's mere escapism, a way to feel like you're somewhere warm and cozy. But for those in the know, Tiki is an art form, a genre, an entire culture.

It all began in the South Pacific and gradually spread to famous hotel bars and, ultimately, the best recipe books. Yes, it's a vacation in a glass, and that glass might just be a pineapple, coconut husk, shared bowl, or Tiki mug, but it's also a category of some of the most interesting drinks on the planet (with a devout following, we might add).

Read more