Finding Rumrater's favorite: Rum Old Fashioned & Cocktails


Sign up or Log In to change notification settings.
LA
lackofbeans 🇺🇸 | 0 ratings Author Posted 8 Nov '19

Hey RumRatings! I'm looking for *your* favorite Rum Old Fashioned! Something that brings out the best of your favorite Rum has had me hooked on Rum for almost two years now. All you need is quality rum and true ingredients to get a kick-ass traditional Mai Tai, but to express Rum in a Old Fashioned Cocktail has had me stumped. My current favorite has been El Dorado 12 yr with Demerara sugar, and Bittermen's Elemakule Tiki Bitters, or at least 2 dash Ango / 1 dash Chocolate Bitters. The baking spices and molasses/ caramel are exactly the tasting notes I look for in my old fashioned cocktails, but I know there's much more to the Rum World than cinnamon and vanilla.
Andy avatar image
Andy (PREMIUM) 🇺🇸 | 142 ratings Replied 10 Nov '19

Good question, wish more places offered a drink like this - wonder if any RR folks have found a great recipe?
JA
jamesshaffer 🇺🇸 | 40 ratings Replied 6 Dec '19

There's a recent video on the "Steve the Bartender" channel on YT for a "Maple Rum Old Fashioned" cocktail. In the video he uses El Dorado 12-year, real maple syrup and a few dashes of aromatic bitters. It intrigued me, so I decided to try it. I got the ingredients, tried the cocktail and it was great! I (thankfully) went with the El Dorado 12-year reserve instead, which has become my new favorite "good" rum. The cocktail certainly has a strong maple flavor, but the rum brings its own wonderful mix of flavors. So, maybe try this one?
LA
lackofbeans 🇺🇸 | 0 ratings Author Replied 12 Dec '19

In Palo Alto CA, there's a bar called 'Nola' that does a Barrel Aged Maple Syrup Old Fashioned! I can attest that Barrel Aging and Maple Syrup go together so well, it makes me want to down the whole drink while enjoying some flapjacks! Im surprised El Dorado is well known, as I picked it up on a whim, since then, I have tried: El Dorado 21 (blue label),El Dorado 15 Yr (White band label), and El Dorado 12 (Red band label). Though 21 is damn good, almost save-the-bottle worthy, the price is just not worth that extra bit. Go for 12 year.
RH
Rhombic 🇪🇸 | 13 ratings Replied 30 Jan '20

I recently had a Mount Gay Old Fashioned, garnished with an orange peel twist and some coffee beans... delicious! The coffee aroma blended in extremely nicely too, while the simplicity made the rum be the protagonist and showcase its flavour profile.
KE
kevin_kaye 🇺🇸 | 20 ratings Replied 20 Apr '21

Hello All. Just getting onto the forums here and thought I'd drop a note. I've recently used Diplomatico Exclusiva Reserva in two classic cocktails - the Daiquiri and the Old-Fashioned. For my Old-Fashioned, I add a bar spoon of demerara syrup, the same amount of spring water, 3-4 generous dashes of orange bitters, and half an orange slice to a rocks glass. I gently muddle these together. I add several large ice cubes and pour 2 1/2 ounces of the rum over the ice. Stir gently until the glass is very cold. Garnish with a high-quality cherry. The Diplomatico provides a wonderful mix of flavors that really comes together with the orange of the other ingredients, and the demerara syrup adds additional depth that regular simple syrup or sugar cubes don't approach. Since the Diplomatico is on the sweeter side, you need to be careful to add just the right amount of syrup or it can become too sweet and you'll lose that little bit of pleasant burn from the rum. For the Daiquiri, I add 2 oz. Diplomatico, 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice, and 1/2 oz. demerara syrup to a shaker with ice, shake until frosty, and strain into a martini glass. (Our martini glasses are 10 oz. so I actually usually double this recipe.) The Daiquiri is possibly my favorite cocktail and I've tried it with many different rums. Again, the Diplomatico brings such a rich and rounded flavor that is accentuated by the lime and syrup. Too many people not only have forgotten some of these truly classic cocktails, but also these new variations.