National Rum Day 2021: Easy and delicious cocktail recipes to make and enjoy at home

14 August 2020, 16:20 | Updated: 30 June 2021, 16:24

By Emma Gritt

@emmagritt

August 16 is National Rum Day - and whether you love a Dark and Stormy, Daiqiri or Pina Colada, we've got the perfect cocktail recipe for you... and a fun twist on jerk chicken.

Two Drifters rum punch

4 tbsp Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum

1 tsp grenadine

85mls pineapple juice

4 tbsp orange juice

Shake well and serve over ice

We be Limin’

Ingredients:

50ml The Duppy Share Aged

25ml Fresh Lime Juice

15ml Vermouth

15ml Rich (2:1) Sugar Syrup

Method:

Shake 50ml of The Duppy Share Aged, 25ml Fresh Lime Juice, 15ml Vermouth and 15ml of Rich Sugar Syrup over ice and then strain.

Spiced Spritz

Ingredients:

50ml The Duppy Share Spiced

Fever Tree White Grape & Apricot Soda

Method:

Pour 50ml The Duppy Share Spiced over ice and top up with Fever Tree White Grape & Apricot Soda. Garnish with citrus zest.

Cherry Storm

Ingredients:

50ml Kopparberg Cherry Rum in glass

Squeeze ½ lime into glass

2 heaped teaspoons of soft brown sugar

Cubed ice

Top with ginger ale

Cherry Mojito

Ingredients:

Crushed ice

8-10 Mint leaves in glass

1 ½ teaspoon of soft brown sugar in glass

Squeeze ½ lime into glass

50ml Kopparberg Cherry Rum

125ml Soda water

Method:

Put all ingredients in a glass, add crushed ice. Churn and garnish with mint sprig and lime wedge.

Cherry Rum Punch Sharer

Ingredients (mix all in a jug):

100ml Kopparberg Cherry Rum

50ml grapefruit juice

125ml apple juice

50ml pineapple juice

15ml Grenadine

Cubed ice and chopped fruit

Top with soda water

Other rum bottles available on the high street and online now

Deadhead Dark Chocolate Rum

This premium rum (£54.99, The Bottle Club) is designed for sipping, and is infused with decadently dark, slow roasted cacao, and has essences of coffee, butterscotch and dark chocolate. Oh and what a bottle!

Cargo Cult Banana Spiced Rum

This Australian rum (£30.99, The Bottle Club) is a blend of Fijian and Papua New Guinean rum spiced up with a secret recipe that includes Australian bananas from North Queensland.

Cut Rum

Cut Rum Spiced (£23.50) is infused with real spices including, aniseed, nutmeg, ginger, black peppercorn, cinnamon, coriander seed, lemon peel and sweet vanilla pods.

Cut Rum Smoked (£23.50) is the UK’s first naturally smoked rum - a 3 year old Jamaican rum infused with Arabica coffee beans, smoked with burnt wood chips and left to rest in oak barrels. It has a heady aroma of cocoa nib, oak, vanilla, pipe tobacco and a brown sugar taste.

Cut Rum Overproof (£23.50) made with the same ingredients as the Spiced bottle, but with different amounts. It has an aroma of waffle pancakes and motor oil, and tastes of warm vanilla, cake factory, and coconut oil.

Five Hundred Cuts

Five Hundred Cuts is an innovative botanical rum made by craft beer heroes BrewDog Distilling Co.

Their meticulous approach to this sweet spirit means each bottle takes six months and thirty-five recipes to complete!

Distilled from sugar cane molasses fermented for five days using a mixture of red wine and rum yeast, the resulting liquid is then double-pot distilled to create a flavoursome white rum with rich tropical flavours and hints of dark berries.

Priced £24 from BrewDog Distilling Co.

RedLeg Spiced Rum

Made by rum lovers by blending the best rums from the Caribbean and leaving them to rest in oak barrels before infusing with Jamaican vanilla and ginger for an incredibly smooth, versatile spirit. 

Perfect with simple mixers or in more complex cocktails.

Currently priced £15 at Tesco and Asda. 

ARLU Rum jerk chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ARLU RUM Original Spiced Rum

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 cup diced onion

1- inch-long piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon allspice

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 chicken thighs

Method:

Combine rum, lime juice, onion, ginger, garlic, allspice, thyme, cayenne, salt, and black pepper in a blender and pulse until smooth.

Lay chicken thighs in a large casserole pan and pour marinade over the top.

Turn chicken to evenly coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.

Prepare the grill by cleaning it and using a small amount of oil to grease grate to prevent sticking.

Turn the flames on to medium.

Grill chicken thighs over medium heat, skin-side down for about 10 minutes, then flip and continue grilling for another 8-10 minutes.

Smaller or boneless thighs will take less time to cook.