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12 rum cocktails you’ll actually make on repeat

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12 rum cocktails you’ll actually make on repeat

Read time 4 Mins

Posted 02 Apr 2026

By
Amelia Ball

The Dark 'n' Stormy cocktail is a great showcase for dark rum

A dozen drinks that prove just how much this spirit can do.

If you think rum is just for ye olde pirates, it’s time to take a closer look at this immensely versatile and approachable spirit. For starters, it comes in so many different colours, flavours and styles, there’s bound to be a rum that you genuinely enjoy. You can choose between everything from light, gold and dark rums to spiced, coconut flavoured, aged styles and more. Rum is the spirit behind the umbrella-garnished cocktails of your holiday dreams, but it can also be a sophisticated sipper that’s as complex and rewarding as any great whisky. Rum has some serious range.

Made from fermented and distilled sugarcane juice or molasses, rum is produced pretty much everywhere you’ll find that tropics-loving tall grass (yes, it’s actually a grass). That partly explains why rum tends to go hand in hand with exotic destinations and beachside vacays, but we also think it’s because it just tastes so good. As for what to expect from its flavours, it depends entirely on the rum style you go for – it can be restrained and neutral, sweet and spiced, rich and complex, and everything in between.

There are countless ways to showcase this spirit (neat and on the rocks are very much included), but if you’re after some of the best rum cocktail recipes, we’ve pulled together 12 of our favourites. A mix of age-old classics and some less-expected drinks, these are easy, seriously tasty and perfect for mixing and sharing with mates. Just don’t forget those cocktail umbrellas.

3 MINS READ

1. Daiquiri cocktail recipe

We have to start with the absolute classic, which is so much more than the sum of its three ingredients. It sounds so simple – just light rum, sugar syrup and lime juice shaken together – but when you hit the right balance, it makes total magic. Sweet and sour, chilled and vibrant, this Cuban creation is a cocktail worth mastering.

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2. Mojito cocktail recipe

We can thank Cuba for this icon, too, and it’s another rum hero that wins over a crowd. It takes the Daiquiri’s trio of ingredients, adds muddled lime and crushed ice, and there’s also a splash of soda water as an optional extra, if that appeals. While this cocktail is pure summer, we think it’s also a top pick for dreary nights to pretend you’re somewhere else.

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3. Dark ‘n’ Stormy cocktail recipe

Is the Dark ‘n’ Stormy even a cocktail? Consider this a dark rum highball with ginger ale and fresh lime juice, but don’t let its simplicity stop you – it’s a masterclass in excellent flavours mingling together. Sweet but tart, fizzy and fresh, there are few better drinks for balmy nights – and people who think they’re not into dark rum.

5 MINS READ

4. Rum Sour cocktail recipe

Why should whisky have all the fun when it comes to this classic Sour cocktail? After all, it’s bringing together everything that makes the Daiquiri so great (rum, lime juice and sugar syrup) and adding egg white for that textbook velvety texture along with a few dashes of bitters to bring it all together. It might just become your go-to Sour.

2 MINS READ

5. Toffee Negroni cocktail recipe

If you’re into sweeter cocktails, or perhaps just feel like switching up your usual Negroni, this cocktail is a winner. The classic inclusion of gin is subbed for dark rum, Campari steps aside for Aperol, and sweet vermouth makes way for amontillado sherry. Can we call this subtly bittersweet drink a Negroni? You can decide, but we guarantee it’s just as tasty.

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6. Rum & Dolce cocktail recipe

Everybody needs a creamy, desserty cocktail in their arsenal, and we think it should be this one. Dulce de leche, South America’s favourite caramel spread, shines here, mixed with liqueurs, cream, lemon juice and, yes, rum. This is all about rich, warm butterscotch and caramel flavours, and if you pull this out post-dinner for friends, you might just get a standing ovation.

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7. Hot Honey Coco Daiquiri cocktail recipe

Like all good classic cocktails, the Daiquiri has hundreds of twists, but we’re including this hot honey coconut recipe because, well, just try it. Spiced rum brings warmth and richness, the hot, spicy honey brings a subtle kick, and the coconut cream and lime juice round it out in the best kind of decadent, tropical way. One for year-round sipping.

3 MINS READ

8. Darryl Strawberry cocktail recipe

Named after the famous US baseball player, this cocktail combines aged rum with amaro, sugar syrup, lemon, strawberries and soda water for fruity, herbal and fizzy results. It’s got depth, thanks to the aged rum and botanicals in the Italian bitter liqueur, but the other ingredients ensure it still has all the freshness that you expect from a drink that’s this pink.

3 MINS READ

9. Umami Old Fashioned cocktail recipe

Soy sauce? In your cocktail? Yep, we’re serious. And yes, we think you’re going to love it. This savoury take on the classic Old Fashioned is a mix of dark rum and amontillado sherry, balanced out with the salty sweet combo of soy sauce and maple syrup. There are some big flavours going on here, and they fit perfectly alongside some salty snacks.

2 MINS READ

10. Lost Plane cocktail recipe

Amaro and rum are clearly great mates, and the Lost Plane brings them together again – this time with Aperol, lemon juice and sugar syrup. This cocktail is a play on the Paper Plane, with dark rum replacing the original recipe’s hero bourbon. The result is a slightly richer cocktail here, but still with that all-important fine balance of bitter-sweet.

3 MINS READ

11. Air Mail cocktail recipe

Just 60mL of Champagne or sparkling wine add fizz, finesse and a little bit of fancy to this cocktail. Gold rum, lime juice and honey syrup are shaken together with ice and then strained, poured into a glass and topped with the bubbles. It’s such a different way to enjoy rum, we think it will even appeal to your wine-or-bust mates.

3 MINS READ

12. Fizzy Colada cocktail recipe

Think it’s wrong that we didn’t include the Piña Colada on this list? You might change your mind after you try this simple spin. It’s just white rum, lime juice, coconut water and Pineapple Cruiser (yes, really), and all you have to do is build the ingredients in a glass with ice to get a seriously refreshing, crowd-pleaser of a cocktail.