15 Best Mixed Drinks With Dark Rum Tasted & Ranked (2023)
Last Updated on April 4, 2023 by Lydia Martin
Dark rum is an aged rum that adds rich, bold tastes to any classic cocktail. Most people enjoy rum as it delivers spiced flavors with a boozy kick.
If you’re into dark rum and looking for new ways to savor it, here’s a list of mixed drinks with dark rum that will satisfy your palate.
Top 15 Cocktail Recipes With Dark Rum
15. Zombie Cocktail
This is one of the best dark rum cocktails featuring four types of rum, three different fruit juices, and two fruit syrups.
Although it’s got a 1970s vibe, this mixed drink actually came from the 1930s.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1oz white rum
- 1oz spiced rum
- 1oz dark (aged) rum
- 1oz fresh lime juice
- 1oz fresh lemon juice
- 1oz pineapple, juiced
- 1oz passion fruit juice
- 3-dash orange bitters or Angostura bitters
- .5oz grenadine
- .5oz 151 rum (optional)
Instructions: Except for 151 rum and grenadine, pour all the ingredients into your shaker, add ice, and shake. Strain into your highball glass and pour grenadine and 151 rum on top.
Serving: 1
14. Rum Sour Cocktail
This recipe calls for three perfect ingredients for rush hours. Adding lemon juice and sugar mellows the taste of the alcohol, keeping the flavor balanced.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2oz dark (aged) rum
- .75oz juice of a lemon
- .75oz simple syrup
- sliced lemon/Maraschino cherries/mint sprig (optional)
Instructions: Combine simple syrup, juice, and dark rum in your shaker with ice. Shake for 30-45 seconds, pour into your rocks glass, and garnish if desired.
Serving: 1
13. Pina Colada
Piña Colada is one the best rum cocktails—sweet and balanced. Experience the crisp and tart flavors, complementing the coconut notes.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2oz dark rum
- 1.5oz cream of coconut
- 1.5oz pineapple juice
- .5oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions: Pour dark rum, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut into your bar shaker.
Shake for around 20 seconds and strain into your chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with pineapple leaf and wedge, if desired.
Serving: 1
12. Jungle Bird
Jungle Bird is also one of the tasty dark rum cocktails perfect for those who love fruit but want something a bit more complex.
The combination of Campari [1] and rum creates a unique and refreshing drink.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1oz dark rum
- 1.5oz pineapple juice
- 1oz Campari
- .5oz lime juice
- .5oz simple syrup/maple syrup
Instructions: In your shaker, combine dark rum, lime juice, pineapple juice, Campari, and simple syrup with ice. Shake until well-chilled and strain into your cocktail glass. Garnish it with fresh mint if desired.
Serving: 1
11. El Presidente
With so many variations of El Presidente, it’s still one of the delicious dark rum cocktails that everyone should try.
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1.5oz dark or gold rum
- .75oz dry vermouth
- .25oz orange curacao
- 2-dash grenadine
Instructions: In your mixing glass, combine all the ingredients and stir. Strain into your cocktail glass and enjoy.
Serving: 1
10. Painkiller Cocktail
This Painkiller dark rum cocktail is a must-try for anyone who loves Pina Coladas. It’s a great variation on the classic drink, at a much more flavorful version.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2.5oz aged rum (Pusser’s Rum)
- 4oz pineapple juice
- 1oz cream of coconut (not coconut cream)
- 1oz orange juice
Instructions: In your ice-filled shaker, pour rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and cream of coconut, then shake well. Pour the Painkiller cocktail into your hurricane glass and garnish with grated nutmeg and Maraschino cherry.
Serving: 1
9. Rum & Coke
One of the most popular rum drinks worldwide is Rum and Coke. This rum cocktail gives a deeper caramel flavor. Top it with lemon juice for a refreshing twist.
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2oz white (or light rum), dark rum (or black rum), or aged (or golden) rum
- 4oz cola
- 1 lime wheel
Instructions: In your glass with ice, pour rum and stir. Top the glass with cola and squeeze the lime wheel.
Serving: 1
8. The Brass Monkey
This Brass Monkey drink is an easy dark rum cocktail perfect for those nostalgic drinks from the 1970s.
This mixture of rum and OJ was a popular drink and favorite recipe back then, with beautiful golden color.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1oz dark rum
- 1oz vodka
- 2oz orange juice
Instructions: In your shaker with ice, add vodka, rum, and orange juice, then shake until well-chilled. Strain the mix in your lowball glass with ice and garnish with an orange wedge.
Serving: 1
7. New Orleans Hurricane
This Hurricane cocktail is full of fun and fruit—made with two types of rum. As one of the classic dark rum cocktails, it has a tropical flare and sweetness.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2oz dark rum
- 2oz light rum
- 1oz orange juice
- 1oz lime juice
- 1.5oz passion fruit syrup
- 1tbsp grenadine
Instructions: Shake all the ingredients in your bar shaker with ice. Strain the mix into your glass and garnish with a cherry or orange wedge if you like.
Serving: 1
6. Caribbean Rum Punch
This perfectly balanced, refreshing cocktail—is enhanced by adding your favorite dark rum, giving the vibes of a tropical paradise. This is a must-try dark rum cocktail.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1oz white rum
- 1oz dark rum
- 2oz pineapple juice
- 1oz orange juice
- .5oz lime juice
- .5oz grenadine syrup
- Orange slice/cocktail cherry
Instructions: Except for grenadine, combine white/dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and lime in your tall glass with crushed ice. Top it with grenadine and garnish with a cherry and orange slice.
Serving: 1
5. Dark & Stormy
Dark and Stormy is probably one of the most famous and easy-to-make darl rum cocktails. It combines the richness of an earthy dark rum with the flavors of vanilla and brown sugar.
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4oz spicy ginger beer
- 2oz Gosling’s Black Seal rum
- 1oz fresh lime juice
Instructions: In your highball glass, pour the ginger beer over ice and top it with rum. Squeeze lime wedge and stir gently.
Serving: 1
4. Hot Buttered Rum
This dark rum drink is the opposite of the tropical drinks you’re used to. Hot Buttered Rum is perfect for sipping on a cold evening—infused with a spirit-forward and sweet dark rum.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
For the spiced butter:
- 6tbsp salted butter
- 3tbsp brown sugar
- 1tsp ground cinnamon (or cinnamon stick)
- ¼-tsp nutmeg
- ¼-tsp allspice
For each drink:
- 1.5tbsp spiced butter
- 2oz rum
- 6oz boiling water
Instructions: For the butter, flatten the salted butter using a rolling pin, add the sugar and spices, then mix all together until they’re well incorporated.
Set aside. For the drinks, add 1.5oz butter in each glass, then pour rum [2] and boiling water, then stir to mix.
Serving: 4
3. Mojito With Dark Rum
One of the best dark rum cocktails is the Mojito. But you can enhance this simple drink with dark rum, sugar, club soda, and lime—making a refreshing cocktail that can be enjoyed anytime.
“Drinking rum before 10 am makes you a pirate, not an alcoholic.”
— Granger Smith, American Singer-Songwriter
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 mint leaves
- 2tsp raw sugar
- 1/2 lime, quartered
- 2oz dark rum (or white rum)
- club soda (can use seltzer water or ginger beer)
Instructions: In your serving glass, muddle sugar, mint leaves, and sugar. Combine rum and muddle a bit more. Fill your glass with ice and pour club soda on top.
Serving: 1
2. Bahama Mama
Bahama Mama is a dark rum drink that’s refreshing and tropical—a beachy drink that features a combination of rum, pineapple juice, and lime.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- .5oz grenadine
- 1oz dark rum
- 1oz coconut rum
- .5oz lime juice
- 3oz pineapple, juiced
Instructions: In your serving glass, pour coconut rum, dark rum, and juices over ice. Gently stir the Bahama Mama mixture, pour grenadine at the center, and let it sink to the bottom.
Serving: 1
1. Classic Mai Tai
Mai Tai is one of the well-known classic dark rum cocktails. It is complex but sweet enough with a nuanced, extraordinary flavor.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1.5oz aged rum
- .5oz orange liqueur
- .74oz lime juice
- 1oz orgeat syrup
- .5oz dark rum
Instructions: Add all the ingredients to your cocktail shaker with ice except for the dark rum. Shake well and strain the Mai Tai in your glass over ice.
Pour dark on top and garnish with a lime wedge.
Serving: 1
FAQs
What mixes well with dark rum?
Dark rum mixes well with sugarcane juice, grapefruit juice, honey, simple syrup, coffee liqueur, and ginger beer [3].
What is the best way to drink dark rum?
The best way to drink dark rum is neat, over ice, or with a few drops of water. But you can also enjoy dark rum drinks in cocktails like Dark and Stormy, Mai Tai, Rum Negroni, and more.
What soda goes with dark rum?
The soda that goes well with dark rum is club soda. This combo can create some of the best dark rum cocktails, like Mojito [4].
On A Final Note
You have many drinks to try, from the classics to modernized dark rum cocktails with a twist.
Since you have many options, we’ve listed the best to make your selection easier, whether you like mellow dark rum cocktails or bolder rum drinks.
From the Zombie cocktail to the Painkiller, Dark and Stormy, to the Classic Mai Tai, all these rum cocktails will surely refresh your day with a bit of booze from your favorite rum and some garnishes.
References:
- https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/guide-campari
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/rum-liquor
- http://campusarch.msu.edu/
- https://theculturetrip.com/caribbean/cuba/articles/who-really-invented-the-mojito/
Lydia Martin hails from Redmond, Washington, where you’ll find some of the best cocktail bars and distilleries that offer a great mix of local drinks. She used to work as a bar manager in Paris and is a self-taught mixologist whose passion for crafting unique cocktails led her to create Liquor Laboratory. Lydia can whip up a mean Margarita in seconds! Contact at [email protected] or learn more about us here.
