Give the classic old-fashioned a run for its money with some dark rum and ginger bitters. Although spicy rum has a funky molasses taste, dark rum has all the toasty flavors that bring out the complexity and sweetness of a spicy rum old-fashioned.
How to Make a Spicy Rum Old-Fashioned
Go around the world with this cocktail by experimenting with different rums. Whether it's Demerara rum from Guyana, a rhum agricole from the French Caribbean, or a barrel-aged cachaça from Brazil, this spicy, tasty cocktail will please your palate.
Ingredients
- 1 orange peel
- 1 Demerara sugar cube
- 3 dashes ginger cocktail bitters
- 2 ounces dark rum
- Splash of water
- King cube
- Cocktail cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a rocks glass, muddle the orange peel, sugar cube, and bitters.
- Add the dark rum and water and stir.
- Add a king cube.
- Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
For a spicier kick to your cocktail, use spiced rum like Captain Morgan in place of the dark or make it from scratch at home. By making it from scratch, you can add other delicious flavors like spiced coffee rum, tropical spiced rum, or even a peppery one.
Spiced Rum Old-Fashioned Variations
The basic recipe is delicious, but feel free to mix it up with some tasty variations.
- Replace the rum with cachaça and the orange peel with a lime peel.
- Replace the sugar cube with ½ ounce of allspice dram.
- Substitute black walnut, cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom bitters for the ginger bitters.
- Replace the splash of water with a splash of ginger beer or ginger ale.
- Replace the sugar cube with ½ ounce of coffee liqueur.
- Create a tropical variation using the proportions and directions from above but using a lime peel in place of the orange peel, cardamom bitters in place of the ginger bitters, and coconut-flavored rum in place of the dark rum. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Related: A Maple Old-Fashioned Recipe That'll Leaf You Wanting Another
Simple Garnishes
Looking for a creative garnish? Try one of the following:
- Garnish with candied ginger and a cocktail cherry on a cocktail skewer.
- Skewer a starfruit slice.
- Create a long orange peel and spiral it around the inside of the glass.
Baby, We Were Born to Rum
One of the simplest ways to put your own spin on a cocktail is to switch the spirit, and dark rum is the way to go. Kick the whiskey to the curb and the rum away with this cocktail instead.
