Rum Old Fashioned: The unsung hero of the tipple community

For the theme of this month’s recipe, I decided to go with one of the unsung heroes of the liquor world — and there are a lot of them. Aquavit, for example, is one of my favorite rarely mentioned spirits. But as far as cocktails go, I’d have to say the Rum Old Fashioned is definitely one of the unsung heroes of the tipple community. Why? I’m glad you asked.

People love whiskey, people love rum. But a lot of people who are loyal whiskey or rum drinkers don’t always realize how well classic cocktails exchanging the two spirits work. The Rum Old Fashioned is one of those cocktails, at least in my opinion, and it’s delicious.

Many people ask for Old Fashioneds without entirely realizing what they’re ordering. All they know is that it’s whiskey-based and yummy and hey – that’s totally okay! But if you substitute the whiskey in an Old Fashioned for an aged rum, you won’t be angry. Think about it: Aged rum is going to have a lot of the familiar woody, vanilla and caramel notes that a lot of whiskeys offer. I’d suggest this trick with many classics, especially those that call for bourbon. 

Rum Old Fashioned

1 Sugar cube (or roughly the same amount of sugar) placed in a rocks glass

1 Dash Orange Bitters

4 Dashes Angostura Bitters

¼ oz Filtered water

Muddle cube until sugar starts to dissolve

Add 2 oz aged rum (Old Monk or Plantation recommended)

Stir until sugar is dissolved 

Add ice, give one quick stir

Garnish with a Maraschino Cherry (Luxardo recommended)

Cheers to the unsung heroes!