Get ready for National Rum Day! Thursday, August 16 may be a work day, but it’s also a day to enjoy a fruity rum drink or two. I still remember fondly a time when we could drink at lunchtime at the office (and I still insist on my Friday martini lunch at my favorite Japanese fusion place downtown), but if you must wait until 5:00, don’t neglect this most important holiday of the year. Stock up on some good-quality rum, plenty of pineapples and coconut milk, and get ready to enjoy some of the best rum drinks you’ve ever heard of.
My favorite New York bartenders have graciously provided recipes to some of the best rum drinks, not only in the city, but in the world.
Over at Forrest Point in Brooklyn, barkeep Teylor Smirl’s delicious Taako’s Good Here is a drink that is imaginative as the hip, chic-rustic converted gas station in which this delightful café and lounge is located. This one has a wonderful little bite at the end with the spicy bitters.
Taako’s Good Here
1 oz Brugal 1888 Rum
1 oz MÔTÔ whiskey
.75 oz. lime juice
.75 oz. pineapple juice
.75 oz. simple syrup
handful diced red and orange bell peppers
dash of Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub
orange pepper (for garnish)
Combine ingredients into a shaker and shake hard. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a cut of pepper.
I’ve never lived in Greenwich Village, but I did live in the Haight-Ashbury, which is a sort of West Coast facsimile. But the restaurants and bars in the Village are always exciting and always have their own unique character. At Boulton & Watt on Avenue A, bartender Josh Cameron whips up the Pensando En Ti, a tasty – and colorful drink with a rose petal garnish.
Pensando En Ti
2 oz. Plantation Original Dark Rum
1.5 oz. coconut milk
.25 oz. allspice dram
.25 oz. Cardamaro
.5 oz. simple syrup
.5 oz. lime juice
rose petals (for garnish)
Shake all the ingredients in a shaker and pour over crushed ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with rose petals and a cinnamon stick.
Still one longs for the classics, even amidst the delights of bespoke drinks served up by New York’s finest bartenders. At the Park Avenue Tavern, barmaster Will Benedetto’s Classic Daiquiri is timeless and always refreshing.
Classic Daiquiri
2 oz. Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum
.75 oz. lime juice
.75 oz. sugar
lime (garnish)
Shake all ingredients in a shaker and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a floating lime wheel.
Also in the Village, Drexler’s takes first place for the most creative cocktail names, with favorites like “Joanie Loves Chacho” (which includes chacho aquadiente), the “Pencil Thin Mustache,” and the “Quit Gherkin Me Around” cocktail which includes dill aquavit. I like their Jones Peach, and bartender Mikey Diehl shares the recipe:
Jones Peach
1.5 oz. Denizen Rum
.75 oz. Amero Aperitif
1 oz. lime juice
.5 oz. simple syrup
dehydrated peach (for garnish)
Build ingredients in a shaker tin and shake away. Strain into a chilled coupe over ice and garnish with dehydrated peach.
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