Cocktail Recipes to Celebrate National Rum Day

What makes a good cocktail? Ingredients that you like. Pretty simple, right? National Rum Day will be taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 16 and everyone (over the age of 21) can participate.

Rum is not only for tropical or "Boat Drinks" but can be used in many cocktails in place of bourbon or gin. First, what's the difference between white and gold rum? The first thing you might notice is the color. White rum is clear and goes from the still into the bottle with no aging. Gold rum, will come off the still and go into a barrel or aging vessel which will impart some 'gold' color to it and also allow some of the flavors to soften while it ages.

Which cocktails can you use rum in place of bourbon or gin? How about a Rum Old Fashioned? Or a Rum Collins? From prnewswire.com:

A Rum Old Fashioned
2 parts dark rum
1 teaspoon sugar
2 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters
0.5 part water
Orange peel for garnish
Method: In an Old-Fashioned glass, pour in the sugar, water and Angostura Bitters. Combine everything with a bar spoon (or muddler), add the rum. Fill the glass 3/4 of the way with large ice cubes and stir repeatedly, around 10 stirs. Top with a little fresh ice. Cut a piece of orange peel and squeeze over the cocktail before dropping it into the drink.

Rum Collins
2 parts dark rum
1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp fine white sugar (caster sugar)
To fill: Soda or sparkling water
Method: Pour rum, lemon juice and caster sugar into a cocktail shaker with cubes of ice and then give it a good, hard shake. Fine strain the mixture into a serving glass and top it up with soda. Finish by garnishing it with a lemon peel.

Let us know how you end up celebrating the day and which cocktail you decide to try. Cheers.

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