What is the best way to serve rum?
The best way to serve rum is how you like it, not how anyone else tells you to! However, if you’d like some ideas, the Timber Rum team have outlined the 7 best ways to serve rum below:
Neat rum
Rum on the rocks
Rum with cola
Rum daiquiri
Rum mojito
Rum and ginger ale
Rum hot toddy
Neat rum
Ok, so that sounds a little simple. Pouring a rum into a glass and serving it neat isn’t exactly exciting, right? Wrong! There’s a real pleasure to serving rum neat. Some of the finest rums available - Timber Rum included - don’t need any embellishment when serving. A quality rum and a good glass is all you really need. Our favourite approach to a serving neat rum is to use a crystal tumbler. Don’t overfill the glass, a poured finger width is more than enough. We always suggest trying Timber Rum neat first to see if you need to add anything. Many have, and don’t. Why not try for yourself - you can buy Timber Rum here.
Rum on the rocks
There’s always been a bit of a debate about adding ice to spirits when not adding a mixer. I vividly recall being refused ice for my whisky in deepest, darkest Speyside…only a drop of water was permitted, and a friend made the mistake of asking for lemonade in his. We don’t talk about that incident now.
Rum on the rocks does work particularly well as a serve though. Again, it’s down to personal choice, but we don’t recommend going overboard when adding ice cubes to your spirit. A couple of cubes does the trick, and cubes are preferable to crushed ice - it’s about chilling the spirit a little rather than watering it down excessively.
Rum with cola
The most popular serve for rum with a mixer is to pair it with cola. Recent estimates are that 70% of rum drinkers drink rum with cola, with the most popular (as you might expect) being the various varieties of Coca-Cola.
The traditional name for a rum with cola is a Cuba libre, and often lime juice is also added. We think Timber Rum works very well with cola. So much so, that we made the TLC - a Timber, Lime and Cola - our signature serve. You can see the very simple serve for the TLC here, and buy Timber from our shop here to try for yourself!
Rum daiquiri
Getting into popular rum cocktails now, a very popular rum serving suggestion is the rum daiquiri. Traditionally served free from garnish, the rum daiquiri is a simple and refreshing cocktail. For our Timber Rum daiquiri recipe all you need is a cocktail glass, cocktail shaker, simple syrup, lime juice and ice cubes. The best rum serves are a traditional subject of debate at Timber Rum HQ, but our rum daiquiri is a very popular choice!
Rum mojito
The rum mojito remains a firm favourite for serving rum. A mojito perhaps looks a bit more complicated than it is to make, with the ‘theatre’ of the mint leaves being involved. However, the muddling of mint leaves, sugar and lime juice is really very simple and doesn’t need any specialist bartending implements. Perfect for summer, the rum mojito is an incredibly refreshing drink and one worth trying at home.
Rum with ginger ale
An increasingly popular serve for rum is to pair it with ginger ale. The light carbonation of the ginger ale works very well with the rum and, in our view, we think rum and ginger ale has the capacity to really establish itself as a clear alternative to pairing rum with cola. We’ve added a suggested serve for a ginger snap to our serves page.
Rum hot toddy
Not controversial, but a suggested serve for rum that you may be less familiar with is the rum hot toddy. Perfect for winter nights, the rum hot toddy using Timber Rum is well worth a try as an alternative to a hot toddy using whisky. A measure of Timber, a dash of maple syrup (or honey), some near boiling water, a slice of lemon and a cinnamon stick to finish are all you need to warm your cockles!
There you have it then. The 7 best ways to serve rum according to the team at Timber Rum. Cheers!