How To Make Rum Cocktails

My name's James. I'm one of the bartenders at 64th & Social and I'm going to talk to you about how to drink rum.
I'm going to make a couple of rum cocktails for you.

And the first one I'm going to make is the most popular cocktail in the world right now. It's the Mojito.
Everyone knows a Mojito.

Everyone loves a Mojito.
It's important that you make them properly. It's got to be balanced, it's got to be fresh, and it's got to be a summer drink, you know.


So I'm going to use:
- just a couple of lime chunks
- a touch of gum syrup
- just a dash of brown sugar

When you muddle it, you release the oils and bitterness and the tanins in the lime skin. Always use a napkin so you're not putting your hand in someone's drink. Make sure the sugar is dissolved because if it's not dissolved, you get bits of sugar up your straw, and it's not the most pleasant thing.



Then I'm going to use a small handful of mint leaves. Give them a slap to release the minty armoa and the minty flavour into the drink.

- double measure of white rum
- some crushed ice

Crushed ice just to help dilute the drink, chill it down, and make it nice and fresh.



Get your bar spinning (again with a napkin) and just swirl it all around to mix your flavors together.
- more crushed ice

The more ice in the drink better just to keep it nice and cold.
- dash of soda water

If it's got crushed ice in it, you should always serve it with straws.

And to finish it off, just grab a couple of mint sprigs, slap them over the drink, and set them in there. That's a Mojito.

The second drink I'm going to teach you is a Mai Tai.

But it's going to be our own little twist on a Mai Tai that we make at 64th & Social. I'm going to use Mount Gilboa Barbados Rum. I'm going to use a half a shot of this.

And half a shot of Sagatiba Pura Cachaca. It dries it out and adds a bit of depth to the drink.

- a shot of fresh lime juice to get a citrus element in there.


- 50 mils of Cointreau, an orange liqueur from France
- 10 mils of a homemade Velvet Falernum we make in 64th & Social

It's made of ginger, almonds, and cloves. - 10 mils of orgeat, an almond syrup -- this one's made in France. It gives a nutty flavor and balances out the citrus as well.

Now I'm going to shake it.
- ice (Ed: He adds cubed ice.)

When you're shaking your drink, you need to shake it nice and hard to add chilling, dilution, and add a bit of texture to the drink.


Give it a taste to make sure it's balanced.

Strain it over crushed ice. (Ed: After straining, He tops with more crushed ice.) And to garnish, I'm going to put an orange slice and, again, a sprig of mint.



And that's how to make rum cocktails.
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