20 Rum Cocktails to Try Today

Angostura Colada cocktail — Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The first half of this list is “bartender’s choice” cocktails, contemporary creations that come straight from the cocktail shakers of today’s top bartenders. The second half is classics, both pre-Prohibition standards and more modern ones that have achieved worldwide acclaim. You’re sure to find something for every palate among these 20 drinks.

The true beauty of rum lies in its versatility. The spirit is produced in more than 80 countries, and in a wide range of styles and proofs. With varieties that span from mild white rum to dark and full-bodied Navy-strength, chances are high that there’s a rum out there for every palate.

And while rum is often lovely sipped on its own, its flavors really shine when mixed in cocktails. From the classic Daiquiri to tropical drinks like the Mai Tai and fun new twists like the Across the Pacific, the 20 drinks on this list are sure to introduce you to a new favorite.

Reggae Rum Punch

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

A simple homemade strawberry syrup adds additional fruity flavor to this Rum Punch twist from Ian Burrell, which also calls for a Jamaican overproof white rum and fresh fruit juices. You can trust the results will be delicious: Burrell is known as The Rum Ambassador.

Get the recipe.
Kingston Negroni

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The Negroni has inspired countless riffs, but this variation from bar pro Joaquín Simó might be one of the bolder takes on the classic you’re likely to find. He swaps in a funky, overproof Jamaican rum in place of the usual gin alongside Campari and sweet vermouth.

Get the recipe.
Por Mi Amante

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Bartender Will Thompson doubles up on strawberries for this cocktail with a kick: He combines a strawberry-infused rum and a homemade strawberry demerara syrup with lemon juice and two dashes of Tabasco.

Get the recipe.
Across the Pacific

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Meaghan Dorman, the bar director at Dear Irving and The Raines Law Room in New York City, invented this drink that brings the tropics to Italy, thanks to the addition of Averna amaro. It’s shaken with two kinds of rum, lime juice, and orgeat, then served over crushed ice with a lime wedge and grated nutmeg to make a drink that brings a transatlantic spin to the tropical traditions.

Get the recipe.

Continue to 5 of 20 below.
Undead Gentleman

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Somewhere between the classic tropical drinks Zombie and Jet Pilot lies this Tiki drink from Martin Cate of Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. Two different rums, grapefruit and lime juices, falernum, cinnamon syrup, and Angostura bitters get mixed and strained into an absinthe-rinsed glass. The eight ingredients—before you even get to the garnishes—may be more than many cocktails call for, but the resulting drink is worth the extra effort.

Get the recipe.
High Horse

Gina Haase

Bar pro Shannon Tebay created this cocktail while at NYC’s Death & Co. Calling it a rum Manhattan wouldn’t be far off; in a nod to Colonial-era ingredients, it uses aged rum, brandy, cherry liqueur, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters.

Get the recipe.
Rum Rangoon

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

This cocktail comes from bar vet Jim Meehan, who uses Banks 5-Island Rum, Clément Créole Shrubb liqueur, lime juice, sugar cane syrup, and orange and aromatic Angostura bitters to create a decidedly Caribbean-inflected drink.

Get the recipe.
One Last Midnight

Noah Fecks

Another cocktail created by Dorman, this drink calls for aged Venezuelan rum and two Italian vermouths, plus a pinch of coffee-infused salt and a spritz of Islay scotch to finish. As its name implies, it makes an ideal nightcap.

Get the recipe.

Continue to 9 of 20 below.
Island Oasis

Tyler Zielinski

A homemade pineapple shrub is the key ingredient in this refreshing summery cocktail from drinks educator Jena Ellenwood, adding acidity and spice to a mix that also calls for aged rum, pineapple juice, and coconut water.

Get the recipe.
Angostura Colada

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

This Piña Colada riff has an unexpected base: an unconventionally heavy pour of Angostura bitters. The rest of its ingredients, however, you’ll recognize from a standard version of the tropical classic, including rum, pineapple and lime juices, and cream of coconut. Bartender Zac Overman took inspiration from the equally Ango-heavy Trinidad Sour to create this drink when he hosted a weekly Tiki night at Brooklyn’s Fort Defiance.

Get the recipe.
Daiquiri

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

As legend goes, this ultimate classic was invented in 1898 in the mining town of Daiquiri on the southeastern tip of Cuba by an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox. With only three ingredients in the classic form of the recipe—light rum, lime juice, and simple syrup—and a bright, tart flavor, it’s no surprise the Daiquiri soon took the world by storm.

Get the recipe.
Piña Colada

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The Piña Colada is often misunderstood. Since it debuted in 1954 at the Caribe Hilton in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, the cocktail took off, quickly becoming synonymous with overly sweet concoctions downed at poolside bars and on booze cruises. Tropical-cocktail aficionados and vacationers alike love the mix of rum, coconut, and lime and pineapple juices, though using quality ingredients certainly helps to render a top-notch version.

Get the recipe.

Continue to 13 of 20 below.
Dark ’n Stormy

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

A close cousin to the Moscow Mule, this classic takes rum to a new level with just three ingredients. Technically, Gosling’s Black Seal rum is the only rum to be used in a Dark ‘n Stormy, since the company owns the trademark for its name. It’s a rich, flavorful rum from Bermuda and features notes of caramel, vanilla, and spice that perfectly balance the drink’s lime juice and ginger beer. The resulting cocktail looks like a storm but goes down dangerously smoothly.

Get the recipe.
Jungle Bird

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

This classic tropical cocktail, created in the 1970s at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton, has an unusual twist: the addition of Italian bitter liqueur Campari is used alongside black strap rum, pineapple and lime juices, and demerara syrup. The result is a balanced drink with a dark, bitter edge—still recognizable as a drink in the Tiki genre, but with a flavor that takes it into the colder months with ease.

Get the recipe.
Mojito

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The origin of this cocktail is thought to lie in 16th-century Cuba, where a drink called El Draque—named for Sir Francis Drake, the English sea captain and explorer who visited Havana in 1586—was popular. Composed of aguardiente (a cane-spirit precursor to rum), lime, mint, and sugar, El Draque was supposedly consumed for medicinal purposes. Later, the aguardiente was swapped for white rum, and the rest is history. Though muddling the mint takes a bit of extra effort, the refreshing result is worth it.

Get the recipe.
Mai Tai

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

This drink is one of the best-known Tiki cocktails in the world, and for good reason. Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron is often credited with inventing the drink at his bar in the 1940s, though it’s likely that Donn Beach laid the groundwork for the famous recipe during the 1930s at his Don the Beachcomber bar. It was invented as a way to showcase the flavors of rum, but over the years it became an overly sweet concoction thanks to bottled mixers and juices. In the spirit of the Tiki renaissance, our recipe goes back to the basics to form a well-balanced cocktail.

Get the recipe.

Continue to 17 of 20 below.
Hot Buttered Rum

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Rum isn’t only for hot summer days and sandy beaches. This heated cocktail is ideal for winter months, thanks to its warmth and rich, complex flavor. Make a batch of batter—with butter, sugar, spices, and vanilla ice cream—and keep it in the freezer so you can make a cocktail whenever you need some warming up. Then, just mix it with gold rum and boiling water, and garnish it with freshly grated nutmeg and a cinnamon stick to create a drink that’ll warm you from the inside out.

Get the recipe.
Painkiller

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

The Soggy Dollar Bar in the British Virgin Islands is the home of this twist on the Piña Colada. Pusser’s Rum (it’s another trademarked drink) is mixed with pineapple, orange, and cream of coconut to create a tropical cocktail that will certainly cure—or at least make you forget—whatever ails you, even if it's just a sunburn.

Get the recipe.
Queens Park Swizzle

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

First shaken up at Trinidad’s Queens Park Hotel in the early 20th century, this refreshing and eye-catching swizzle cocktail combines demerara rum, muddled mint leaves, simple syrup, lime juice, and four dashes of Trinidad’s most famous export, Angostura bitters. The minty drink is somewhat similar to a Mojito, but the bitters and demerara rum lend additional flavor, aromatics, and intensity.

Get the recipe.
El Presidente

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Originally created in the early 1900s in Cuba and most likely named for President Mario García Menocal, who ran the country from 1913 to 1921, El Presidente was invented to satisfy the thirsts of vacationers looking for good weather and booze during Prohibition. After the alcohol ban ended, they brought the cocktail stateside, where it died out in popularity and was then revived in the aughts by curious drinkers looking to sip this interesting combo of white rum, dry vermouth, orange curaçao, and grenadine.

Get the recipe.

20 Rum Cocktails to Try Right Now