National Rum Day Is This Weekend — Here Are 15 co*cktail Recipes to Celebrate (2024)

Picture it: You're lounging on the beach with your toes in the sand, while sipping a fruity, refreshing rum co*cktail. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

Your summer vacation plans might be a little uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn't mean you can't kick up your heels and enjoy the sunshine with a drink in hand this National Rum Day. With sunny days on the horizon, we've rounded up some of the best rum co*cktails that you can enjoy wherever you are for this spirited holiday on Aug. 16, including classics like the Dark 'n Stormy and mai tai, and newer creations like the Walk in the Park and Monkey Wrench. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, rum is gaining popularity in the U.S., and Americans especially love flavored and spiced rums, which now account for over 55 percent of all rums sold.

Whether your rum of choice is dark, white, or flavored, we have a perfect summer co*cktail that will instantly transport you to the sandy shores of the Caribbean or to Casa Bacardi in Puerto Rico (the island is home to some of the best rums in the world). Plus, with on-demand alcohol delivery services like Saucey, you'll be able to get your ingredients and start sipping in no time.

1. Mai Tai

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. aged rhum agricole (Clement VSOP)
• 1 oz. Chairman's Reserve
• 1 oz. lime juice
• .75 Clement Liqueur d'Orange
• .75 oz of orgeat (almond syrup)

Directions: Shake with pebble ice (if available), and pour into a glass. Top with more ice and garnish with mint and nutmeg, if desired.

2. Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Daiquiri

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• 1 oz. lime juice

Directions: Combine in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a coupe.

3. Sex on the Peach

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Don Papa Rum
• 1/2 oz. peach schnapps
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. peach purée (homemade, instructions below)

Directions: To prepare your peach purée, mix equal parts peach preserve and hot water and blend. Combine that with pineapple juice, Don Papa rum, and peach schnapps. Shake the ingredients vigorously and pour over fresh ice. Decorate with thinly sliced peaches and a couple leaves from the crown of a pineapple.

4. Aged Cuba Libre

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Cutwater Barrel Aged Rum
• .25 oz. lime juice
• 4 oz. cola (make it a classic by using Mexican-style colas)

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a highball glass over ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

5. Dark 'n Stormy

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. Goslings Black Seal Rum
• 6 oz. Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer

Directions: In a tall glass filled with ice, pour Goslings Stormy Ginger Beer and top with a float of Goslings Black Seal Rum. Optional: Garnish with a lime wedge.

6. Stiggins’ & Cream (Created by Eric Nielsen of 55 South)

Ingredients:

• 1.75 oz. Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
• .75 oz. fresh lime juice
• .5 oz. simple syrup
• .25 oz. Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof Rum float

Directions: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with cubed ice. Add rum float. Top with salted Mathilde Peche Liqueur cream.

7. Walk in the Park

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. Don Papa Rum
• 1 oz. limoncello
• 1 oz. vermouth blanc

Directions: Pour one ounce of each ingredient into a mixing glass with ice and stir for 30 seconds. Pour into a rocks glass over a large piece of ice and zest with a generous lemon peel. Leave the lemon peel in the glass as a garnish.

8. Monkey Wrench

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. Cutwater Bali Hai Tiki Monkey
• 1 oz. Cutwater Bali Hai Tiki Gold Rum
• 1 banana
• Chocolate syrup

Directions: Blend all ingredients together with ice. Drizzle chocolate syrup on the side of the glass, and pour. Garnish with shaved chocolate.

9. The Bali Hai

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Cutwater Bali Hai Tiki Gold Rum
• .75 oz. fresh lime juice
• .5 oz. ginger syrup
• 2 oz. fresh orange juice
• Angostura bitters

Directions: Shake all ingredients in a co*cktail shaker. Strain over ice in a tall glass, then garnish with a lime wheel. Add a straw and finish with six dashes of Angostura bitters.

10. Cuatro Presidente

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. Bacardi Añejo Cuatro
• 0.75 oz. Martini & Rossi Rosso Vermouth
• 0.25 oz. Dry Curacao
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Directions: Stir all ingredients with plenty of rice until very cold, strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with orange peel.

11. Honeysuckle

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Cutwater Barrel Aged Rum
• .75 oz. fresh lime juice
• .75 oz. honey syrup (2 parts honey, 1 part water)

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a co*cktail shaker. Shake until cold and strain into a coupe or martini glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

12. Cutwater Mojito

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Cutwater White Rum
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• 6 to 8 mint leaves

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a Collins glass. Lightly muddle the mint leaves and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with a bouquet of mint.

13. Martini(que)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. blanc rhum, like Rhum J.M White Rum
• .5 oz. dry vermouth
• .5 oz. blanc vermouth
• .5 oz. fino sherry
• Tiniest pinch of salt
• Bar spoon of Suze

Directions: Stir in mixing glass with ice until desired dilution is achieved. Pour into stemmed glass with lemon peel.

14. Ultimate Piña Colada

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Blue Chair Bay Pineapple Rum Cream
• 1 oz. Blue Chair Bay Coconut Rum
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 cup ice

Directions: Add ingredients to a blender and garnish with pineapple and a cherry.

15. Ocho Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Bacardi Reserva Ocho
• 0.25 oz. simple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Directions: Add all ingredients into a rocks glass, fill with ice and stir until well mixed and very cold. Garnish with orange peel.

Elizabeth Rhodes is an associate digital editor at Travel + Leisure and amateur quarantine mixologist. Follow her adventures on Instagram @elizabetheverywhere.