How to Make the Most Luxurious Rum Old Fashioned

The classic combination of booze, bitters, and sweetness gets a more tropical flare with this delicious rum variation.

The Old Fashioned is a recipe as old as cocktails themselves.

Three ingredients, spirit, bitters, and sugar. That's it.

But that combination is more of a template begging to be tinkered with than it is a recipe. The combinations of base spirit, bitters and different sweeteners are endless so think of this rum version as a jumping off point for even more experimenting at your home bar.

Choosing your rum

Just like any other spirit the differences between rums will play a big part in the flavor of your finished drink.

Any style will work from vibrant Jamaican pot still to funky fresh cane rum from Martinique, my only suggestion is that you choose something barrel aged and non charcoal filtered.

That just means you'll be looking for something dark in color with a number of years aged printed on the bottle. These rums will have more vanilla, oak, and baking spice notes from the barrels they aged in that will work great as the base in a simple cocktail.

Variations on the Rum Old Fashioned

After you've chosen a rum you can still tweak the sugar, bitters and even the citrus garnish.

As a starting point try using Angostura bitters. The bottle is a staple for mixing all sorts of drinks and its' warm allspice flavors pair so nicely with an aged rum. 

Since the rum and sugar in the Old Fashioned won't bring in clashing flavors you can also try any number of other bitters. Orange, grapefruit, chili pepper, or chocolate would all compliment a nice rum, but get crazy with it and try any bitters you want!

what simple syrup should you use?

The standard 1:1 sugar to water simple syrup will work great, but to squeeze in just a little more rich caramelized flavor it's nice to use Demerara Syrup. 

Instead of using plain white sugar make your simple syrup with Demerara or Turbinado sugar. The subtle molasses flavors are awesome in all sorts of cocktails so you can store the extra in your fridge for up to two weeks or so.

Feeling a little extra frisky? Try garnishing with lime or grapefruit peel instead of the classic orange.