Make dark rum less... rummy?

August 31, 2014 6:29 PM

My partner has a fondness for Captain Morgan Spiced Gold Rum. People sometimes just remember the brand name, not the type, and give him the dark rum as a present. As a result we have a stockpile of dark rum, which is a bit strongly flavoured for our taste. We drink it with Coke, but it's still molasses-y. What kind of mixed drink can you suggest to make the thick rum flavour less obvious? Cooking recipes which can use rum without tasting rummy also appreciated.
posted by andraste to Food & Drink (33 answers total)

Best answer: Have you tried making a Dark and Stormy? It is good, strong ginger ale mixed with dark rum over ice and it might add some of the spiciness to the rum that your partner likes.
posted by Lycaste at 6:34 PM on August 31, 2014 [11 favorites]

I was also going to suggest a Dark and Stormy, but I like using ginger beer, which should be sharp enough to cut through the molasses flavors of the rum.
posted by jaguar at 6:36 PM on August 31, 2014 [6 favorites]

2nd Dark and Stormy with ginger beer. Bundy ginger beer, specifically.

(that said: I have had the converse problem... next it comes up, shall we swap rums?)
posted by pompomtom at 6:38 PM on August 31, 2014

(also, you could do worse than a dash of bitters in that dark and stormy...)
posted by pompomtom at 6:40 PM on August 31, 2014

You could add produce. A wedge or three of lime can cut through the heaviness of a rum + coke.
posted by mochapickle at 6:41 PM on August 31, 2014

Grapefruit juice. Ginger ale or beer. Coke is sweet and you want tart or sharp to counter act the sweetness of the spirit. Lemon juice, or perhaps lemonade. Anything but coke.
posted by vrakatar at 6:41 PM on August 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: On the cooking side we like to use dark rum to make "Tipsy Peaches"....pretty much dice up some peaches and cook them in a frying pan with some butter until they get soft. Add a ounce or two of rum (Note: This can/will catch fire....we do it intentionally for fun but be warned). When done we usually serve it over ice cream or pound cake.
posted by Captain_Science at 6:54 PM on August 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Since I think it's still winter in Australia, perhaps now would be a good time to make Hot Buttered Rum? Dark rum, boiling water, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and butter. The heat and butter makes the dark rum less overpowering. Plus, the spices complement the molasses flavor of the rum.

They go down easy--maybe too easy--for me!
posted by girl flaneur at 6:56 PM on August 31, 2014

Tiki drinks usually mix their rums, but you can take some inspiration from their ingredient lists: citrus juices, bitters, splash of soda.

You can also use it for making fruit mince in time for Christmas, where it will taste rummy, but not overpoweringly boozy,
posted by holgate at 6:56 PM on August 31, 2014

Dark and Stormy with Ginger Beer, so freaking good.

Also, what great holiday gifts!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:56 PM on August 31, 2014

A daiquiri—one of the simplest and most delicious cocktails ever invented—can be made with almost any rum. Don't think of the "frozen daiquiris" from T.G.I. Friday's. A genuine daiquiri has just three ingredients: rum, lime juice, and simple syrup. You can find plenty of recipes online that vary the proportions slightly. The most traditional daiquiris will be made with white rum, but you can certainly use dark rum; if you do, probably just cut back on the sugar a bit.

Also, since your friend does like spiced rums, if you ever want to get him a nice one in the future, try Chairman's Reserve.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 7:04 PM on August 31, 2014

These cookies from Veganomicon (I swear there's a non-vegan version of them out there but I'm not seeing it right now). So good. They won't use a up a ton of rum but a good way to use some of it. And people love them. They've become my usual holiday cookie.

A quick search did turn up a lot of recipes for rum cakes and rum cookies. There's also rum balls (delicious rum balls ...).
posted by darksong at 7:16 PM on August 31, 2014

Grog! Mix that dark rum with water and a bit of lime juice and presto! Grog!
So good you'll want to found a seafaring colonial empire.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 7:18 PM on August 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Rum & Dr. Pepper is pretty damn good, maybe a still molasses-y/rummy for your tastes, but definitely better than with regular cola.
posted by ish__ at 7:32 PM on August 31, 2014

Coffee or Chai spiced tea, if that isn't too obvious. Hot or iced, with milk or soymilk.
posted by unmake at 7:38 PM on August 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

A splash of dark rum is great in banana bread or pumpkin bread. I generally find that in baking dark rum is usually interchangeable with bourbon, which is more often called for in recipes.

With fall coming up, my personal favorite is spiked mulled cider. The cider and spices work really well with all that molasses flavor.
posted by gatorae at 7:44 PM on August 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Commercial distilleries filter rums that are "too" dark with active charcoal. Have a Brita filter you don't mind ruining? You can filter part of each bottle of dark rum and then bland it back in with the remainder to get the flavor profile you want. I do this all the time with various distilled spirits. I have cheapo carbon filter for each type of liquor. I keep them in zip locks in my freezer.
posted by Infernarl at 8:06 PM on August 31, 2014 [4 favorites]

My go-to for dark rum is mixed with pineapple juice, on the rocks. (My alternate is a Dark & Stormy with ginger beer.)
posted by flex at 8:16 PM on August 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

If it's 80 proof or above, you can make vanilla extract with some of it.
posted by xingcat at 8:17 PM on August 31, 2014

Have a Brita filter you don't mind ruining?

And if you're doing this a lot, you may want to buy or diy a purpose-made liquor filter.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:14 PM on August 31, 2014

Best answer: Not a huge amount of alcohol used up, but pretty much every truffle can be made with rum (and probably most chocolate desserts that are similar). See also: tiramisu! The espresso syrup in this recipe makes it a wonderful cake-- it could probably be used with other cakes or over ice cream as well.
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:41 PM on August 31, 2014

Best answer: As gatorae says, dark rum works well in banana bread. As a specific example, I can vouch for Nigella Lawson's banana bread recipe, which starts with soaking sultanas in dark rum for an hour.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 10:48 PM on August 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'd mix it 1:1 with vodka and then use as usual.
posted by herox at 11:26 PM on August 31, 2014

I also prefer lighter rum, but I love The Stout Diplomat. Guinness, dark rum and sherry.
posted by wrabbit at 2:24 AM on September 1, 2014

Best answer: Rum with maple syrup, some black pepper is a good glaze (add some brown sugar) or base for braising liquid for sage and salt rubbed pork hunks like arm roast.

I rehydrate fruits in rum after a quick dip in boiling water before use in baking such as, bread pudding.
posted by jadepearl at 3:48 AM on September 1, 2014

Oh my gosh! Why aren't you making mojitos with ginger beer every night??? Fresh mint. Ginger beer or ginger ale, sugar, and the rum.

Mojitos are often made with seltzer buy since you're looking to cut the rum taste, hunger ale or beer will accomplish that nicely.
posted by zizzle at 5:34 AM on September 1, 2014

Sorry! This should've been the right link for the rumnog cookies.
posted by darksong at 6:01 AM on September 1, 2014

Dark rum is a nice addition to caramelized onion jam.
posted by mmascolino at 8:29 AM on September 1, 2014

Grog! Mix that dark rum with water and a bit of lime juice and presto! Grog!
So good you'll want to found a seafaring colonial empire.

NB once this becomes the norm, you will risk mutiny if you try to cut or decrease the rations of this.

It is almost time to break out the winter drinks, so aside from the cider suggestions above, you might like trying the puerto rican eggnog recipe, the Coquito. It is dangerously easy to drink by the gallon and awaken the next morning shamefaced beneath the tree with a wrapping paper blankie and a sticky ribbon bow stuck to your face. Do not give in to appeals to try making this with someone's uncle's backyard ron caña, you will be sorry.
posted by elizardbits at 10:18 AM on September 1, 2014

I would like to nominate the BBC, or Baileys banana colada.
So delicious.
Fill a blender with ice.
Add one banana
One shot 99 bananas (banana liquor, optional)
Add equal parts of (2 shots normally)
Dark rum
Baileys
Cream of cocanut (I use coco Lopez)
Blend and enjoy!
posted by natasha_k at 3:56 PM on September 1, 2014

Best answer: Oh! Bananas Foster! So yummy, and you can serve it flambé. Honestly, there isn't enough food out there that gets served with flames coming out of it.

Emeril's recipe here, but so many other recipes are out there.
posted by mochapickle at 4:59 PM on September 1, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I've marked a few of my favourites but I really appreciate everyone's responses, and will be trying plenty of them.
posted by andraste at 2:50 AM on September 3, 2014

A lot of people in my family like a meyer's and orange juice as a brunch cocktail.
posted by Diablevert at 11:30 AM on September 15, 2014