Classic Summertime Rum Cocktails: The Daiquiri and The Old Cuban

Sometimes with cocktails, it’s best to go simple. Here, cocktail connoisseur Allen Katz shows us how to make two of his favorite summertime drinks: the Daiquiri, and the Old Cuban.

Daiquiri
Most people know this as a frozen drink, but Katz shies away from the frozen version, as it loses flavor.  This cocktail is simple, quick, tart, and refreshing.

2 oz Cruzan White Rum
½ oz fresh lime juice
¼ oz simple syrup

Put all ingredients into a mixing glass and shake well over ice. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a thinly sliced lime wheel.

Old Cuban
Like a Mojito with a sparkling twist

10-12 fresh mint leaves
1 oz. simple syrup
1 ½ oz Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
¾ oz fresh lime juice
1 oz. chilled champagne

Put mint and simple syrup into a mixing glass and muddle firmly but gently. Add the rum, bitters, and lime juice, and shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker over ice (this will will muddle the mint into fine pieces.) Pour into a glass. Top off with champagne.

Recipes provided by Allen Katz, Director of Mixology & Spirits Education for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and co-founder of the New York Distilling Company.

For more on rum, click here to tour Celebration Distillation, America’s first small-batch premium rum distillery and producer of Old New Orleans Rum:

In this video, we taste test four Old New Orleans Rums: