Rum brings us visions of sunshine and warm days filled with relaxation and sand between our toes. Indeed, it is perfect for those summer cocktails we enjoy. However, as we explore this unique, sweet liquor, you may be surprised at the many different uses of rum.

Cocktails

Of course, rum is fabulous in the right cocktail. Well known for its ability to make any summer day feel like vacation, rum is often found in tropical drinks.

Piná Colada

This coconutty, pineapple-infused drink tastes, looks, and smells like a tropical paradise. Made with coconut milk, pineapple juice, and rum, it can be served either blended or shaken.

Rum and Coke

Rather simple, rum and coke is just that—a mixture of rum and coke. Served over ice, this is a simple and very popular drink.

Mojito

Originating in Cuba, the mojito is one of the most refreshing rum cocktails. Created with rum, lime, mint and sugar, the mint offers a unique twist on a cocktail.

Hot Buttered Rum

We can’t leave out the most popular warm cocktail using rum. The perfect drink beside a crackling fire, hot buttered rum may be the only thing that will make you long for winter.

The recipe for this cocktail full of nostalgic smells calls for cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, cloves, and even butter. Yes, it’s that good.

Desserts

Not all spirits are used in desserts, but rum ranks high in this area. It’s the perfect blend of sweetness and warmth to turn any last course into a grown-ups only dish.

Ice Cream

Not just any ice cream, but rum raisin ice cream.

Rum and raisins have long had a relationship that tempts our tummies. Mixing the two with a vanilla-based ice cream or frozen custard sends the combination over the top in a very good way.

Fruitcake

For many, the word fruitcake sounds outdated, with memories of an unappealing cake that is quite honestly sometimes just too tough to chew.

Welcome the homemade rum fruitcake made fresh and with ingredients you enjoy. Try soaking cherries in rum at home and roasting the nuts in your oven rather than purchasing a premade fruitcake, and see the difference.

Bananas Foster

Are we surprised bananas foster was created in New Orleans with its literal flame before serving, and gooey goodness of caramelized bananas in rum? Not at all.

Leave it to “The Big Easy” city to impress with something so elegant, yet so simple.

Cooking

There is no need to limit rum to cocktails and desserts. Let it give your dishes a kick with its spicy, sweet flavor.

Marinade

Experiment with marinating all kinds of meats to see how you enjoy using rum in this way.

Popular choices to mix with rum for a marinade are ginger, soy sauce, and brown sugar, just to name a few. Chicken and beef both work well soaked in a rum marinade overnight and then grilled to perfection.

Rum is also fabulous added to your favorite barbeque sauce before slathering it on a slab of ribs.

Baked Beans

Baked beans are often sweet and sometimes a little spicy. Imagine splashing a little rum in while the beans slowly simmer to soft perfection.

The rum with its hints of vanilla and spice, along with its sweetness, makes it perfect for homemade baked beans, or to jazz up store-bought ones, leaving guests wondering how you created the unique flavor.

Tasting

We’ve all heard of bourbon tastings and wine tastings, but rum has enough variety to compete in a tasting itself.

Have fun hosting a tasting in your home and impress guests with rare or high-end rums they may have never heard of. They’ll leave considering you the new luminary of all things rum.

Pairing

Rum is one of the oldest of all the spirits and has longed been paired with a few foods in particular. Try these out and then try some new options on your own.

Dark Chocolate

When it comes to dessert, there isn’t much that could be more lovely than the simple after-dinner treat of rum and chocolate to satisfy the sweetness our palette craves at the end of a meal.

These two pair so well together due to the caramel notes often found in rum and the bitterness found in true dark chocolate, which is toned down by the sweetness of the rum—a true match made in heaven.

Barbeque

Just as rum works well when cooking with barbeque, it also pairs well beside it. Sip a nice rum or combine it with coke while eating your barbeque chicken, and together they will bring out each other’s sweet and spicy flavors.

Coconut and Pineapple Dishes

Any time a dish is made using the tropical flavors of pineapple, coconut, or both, a sip of rum alongside it is called for.

Many chicken or fish dishes are made in this way, and together with rum, those dishes will go from good to fabulous.

Unusual Uses

For centuries rum has offered some unusual uses, even medicinal ones. Although we don’t recommend you try them at home, they are interesting nonetheless.

Warts

Before wart medicine, rum was used after the wart had been rubbed down a bit with something abrasive such as, a stone, and then a rum-soaked rag would be held on the wart to promote further removal.

Toothache

Many grandpas have suggested a little whiskey rubbed on the gums for an aching tooth, but others prefer rum.

Hot Toddy

An unusual use we can truly get behind; the hot toddy is a comfort for adults who are feeling under the weather with a sore throat or stuffy nose. The hot toddy is a warm mixture of rum (or whiskey), cinnamon, and lemon.

The many different uses of rum may come as a surprise to both rum aficionados and novices alike. Either way, this classic spirit has been around a long time and is going nowhere soon.

VS Liquor offers an extensive list of high-end and rare rums, and we are here to answer your questions about all things rum and more.