The New Age of Rum

A New Orleans classic from Pat O'Briens, Hurricanes can often be a nasty yet delightful mix of powdered flavors mixed into booze and dumped into a Styrofoam cup. Thankfully, they've been helped along by some fancy cocktail bars, and I'm particularly fond of the one at the French-ish Brooklyn absinthe house Maison Premiere.

1 oz Appleton VX
1 oz Rhum JM
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz passion fruit syrup

Shake over ice and strain into a Hurricane glass full of ice (crushed is best).

I found a beautiful version of this cocktail at Ciro's Speakeasy and Supper Club in Tampa, Florida — a wonderfully bizarre bar hidden at the back of an apartment building on the bay. Though it was a fuzzy evening, I've created a variation inspired by the deep, funky tang I downed in front of the bar's jellyfish tank at 1:30 a.m., amid whooping bartenders and shot-downing locals.

2 oz rhum agricole
1/2 oz demerara syrup
3/4 oz lime juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients over ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lime peel.

This is a highly disputed and often poorly made classic. When mixed awesomely, however, it's awesome. For those in New York City, head straight to the basement of Lani Kai on Mondays for Brian Miller's weekly tiki party. Everything on the menu will be perfect, but start the night right with his downright addictive Mai Tai. You're guaranteed to leave the premises swaying. Here's my version.

2 oz rum (dark or gold or a combination of the two)
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz orange curacao
1/4 oz orgeat
1/4 oz simple syrup

Shake ingredients over ice and strain over ice into a double rocks glass or a Mai Tai glass. Garnish with several sprigs of fresh mint.

Ain't no secret Papa Hemingway loved the stuff. And after a few of his high-proof namesake daiquiris, one might be prone to bravado, but lest one forget oneself, hold tight to Hemingway's lesson for lushes: "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."

2 oz white rum
3/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz grapefruit juice
1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur

Shake all ingredients over ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

Our in-house cocktail expert David Wondrich thinks the Ti Punch may be the new drink of summer. He told us so back in June, and we've been drinking them ever since. A funky mix of cane syrup, rhum agricole, and lime, Ti Punch can be considered the old-fashioned's quirky Caribbean cousin.

2 oz white Rhum Agricole
Lime
Cane syrup

Mix together rhum, a splash of cane syrup, and the juice of a big lime wedge. Add ice and stir until cold. Garnish with a lime peel.

This year has seen a sea of aged white rum come to bar shelves. The best test for a white rum's mixability is a plain old daiquiri recipe. If it tastes just fine shaken with lime and sugar, put it on the shelf and use often. On the high end, Caliche ($25) from Puerto Rico is a good sipper or mixer. Unlike most white rums, it's thrown into white oak casks and then made into a Solera (a process in which a bit of older rum is mixed in) to add an extra layer of complexity. In the middle, Brugal Especial Extra Dry ($20) is a blend of aged rums, also filtered to be crystal-clear and dry with a bit of green herb tartness that's perfect for a springy daiquiri. A mutt of a rum, Denizen ($16) is made in Trinidad from Angostura's aged and filtered spirit and then blended with 15 different Jamaican rums for a delightfully affordable and ideal mixing juice.

Rum Club

Though Portland has a penchant for outdoorsy extracurriculars and relaxed dining, its food-and-cocktail scene continues to make leaps and bounds on a national level. Among the city's newer notable cocktail bars is Rum Club, the bronzed younger sister to Beaker & Flask. Just around the corner from its predecessor, the more intimate Rum Club focuses on, yes: rum cocktails, perfectly made by super-knowledgeable bartenders who will encourage pairing their dark, swirling brews alongside sticky-sweet baby back ribs and tartly pickled eggs.

Rum House

Usually, a New Yorker would not direct visitors anywhere near Times Square. Rum House is the exception. Behind the fluffy, seemingly faux-deco facade of the Edison Hotel is a little room of dark wood, gilded mirrors, white tiles, and lots and lots of rum. Once a dingy dive left over from Times Square's days of seedy strip clubs and winos, the beautifully restored bar pays homage to the spirit of sugarcane with perfectly executed classics like the Dark and Stormy and elevated versions of the mojito.