Kristin Braswell (
VinePair for full article, including recipes for a variety of exciting options to explore.]
If the first image that springs to mind when you hear “rum cocktail” is a frozen drink punctured with a colorful parasol, here’s your chance to reimagine the scene — a global one, where rum stars in recipes that don’t require a blender, brain freeze, or idyllic beach. Rum is an international spirit, and a cultural fixture in areas of the world where it is produced. Originally called “Kill Devil” or “rumbullion,” rum’s first recorded history dates to 1650 in Barbados. It became profitable in many Caribbean islands as a result of Europeans who forced Africans to work as slaves. However, the spirit continues to thrive with local pride, and brands around the world are excited to shift the narrative of rum as a spirit made solely for tropical drinks.