Full of flavour and aromas, rums and bourbons are ideal to sip neat or over ice, but they also make fantastic bases for all sorts of cocktails. Here are just three simple yet delicious ones you can try – one using an aged rum and two that make the most of the big, bold flavours of American bourbons.
The Ingredient: Havana Club 7-Year-Old Rum
WAS €43 NOW €35 (Part of our Rum, Bourbon & Tequila sale)
One of our most popular premium rums, Havana Club 7-year-old is aged in ex-bourbon barrels for at least seven years. Complex and full bodied with toffee, vanilla and cigar box notes and hints of tropical fruits, use it in a classic Old Fashioned for a cocktail with a twist:
The Cocktail: Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 60ml Havana Club 7-Year-Old
- 2 tsp sugar syrup or 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1-2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- Orange slice
Method
- Put the sugar and bitters in a glass. Mix until the sugar dissolves if using granulated.
- Fill your glass with ice and stir in the rum.
- Garnish with the orange.
The Ingredient: Eagle Rare 10-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon
WAS €53 NOW €43 (Part of our Rum, Bourbon & Tequila sale)
Eagle Rare bourbon is made at the Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky and offers a great opportunity to taste a long-aged bourbon. It has a black pepper spice note, which complements the vanilla and fudge sweetness from ageing in American oak barrels. Complex and rich, it works wonderfully in a Whiskey Sour cocktail. Here’s how to make it:
The Cocktail: Whiskey Sour
Ingredients
- 50ml Eagle Rare Bourbon
- 25ml fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon squeezed)
- 15ml simple syrup
- Optional: egg white helps to give a foamy, frothy cocktail
Method
- Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake.
- Strain into a glass and garnish with a cherry.
The Ingredients: Maker's Mark Bourbon Whiskey
WAS €47 NOW €35 (Part of our Rum, Bourbon & Tequila sale)
Made with soft red winter wheat instead of the usual rye, Maker's Mark bourbon has a truly unique flavour profile. There's a characteristic sweetness in there along with notes of caramel, vanilla and fruit. Those bold flavours along with its higher alcohol content (at 46% ABV) make it ideal for cocktails. Try it in a quick and easy summer BLT cocktail – that’s bourbon, lemon and tonic.
The Cocktail: BLT (Bourbon, Lemon and Tonic)
Ingredients
- 50ml Maker's Mark Bourbon Whisky
- 150ml tonic
- Squeeze lemon juice
Method
- Fill a tall glass with ice.
- Add the bourbon then tonic and stir gently.
- Garnish with a wedge of lemon.
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