A dark rum and tonic to me means summer. For as long as I can remember it’s been the drink of choice in my family. In fact it was my first “go-to” cocktail.
I recently asked my dad what made him decide to mix dark rum with tonic. We all know about mixing gin or vodka with tonic but not many people use rum. While he couldn’t pinpoint the time that he started to enjoy this drink he did have a few thoughts. First off, he’s always liked rum. When his liquor cabinet was more limited he’d stock Myers’s Dark Rum from Jamaica as it had more flavor than a white or silver rum. He also recalls his dad making rum drinks such as daiquiris in the 1950s when “tiki drinks” were popular. And one of his mom’s favorite cakes was angel food with a chocolate-whipped cream-rum frosting. So perhaps a taste for rum runs in the family?
While we have a few different rums in our liquor cabinet, we always have a bottle of Myers’s on hand just in case we have a hankering for this drink. While the rum of choice hasn’t changed over the years the tonic has. As I was hanging up the phone my dad said “don’t forget to use the good tonic water.” Back in the day it was your traditional Canada Dry or Schweppes. Now we go for the more high quality tonic waters – our favorite is Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water. I’ll give some credit to my generation for that change as I was an early adopter of these tonic waters.
In addition to rum and tonic water all you need is a juicy lime. Fill up your glass with ice, pour in the rum and top off with tonic water. The bubbles should be enough to mix the drink but if not give it a good stir. Take a slice of lime and rub it around the rim of your glass before squeezing it into your drink. With each sip you’ll get sweet (rum), bitter (tonic water) and tart (lime) which results in a cocktail with some depth.
I enjoyed this dark rum and tonic at my favorite summer getaway on Lake Champlain in upstate New York.
| Dark Rum and Tonic | | Print |
- 4 ounces dark rum (such as Myers’s Rum)
- High quality tonic water (such as Fever-Tree Tonic or Q Tonic)
- Lime slices (for garnish)
- Fill highball glass with ice. Add dark rum. Top with tonic water and stir.
- Rub lime slice around rim of glass and add to drink.
Love the picture, love the drink.
Dad – Perfect vacation beverage and the perfect vacation spot! Thanks for making it our family drink.
I did not know that there was such a thing as rum and tonic and made it accidently today only to find out how nice it was! It is different in taste to gin and tonic, less bittter and more flavour some. Some thing like the difference between the white and red wine, gin and tonic being a white wine and rum and tonic being the red wine, i.e. more more body, more flavour and more after taste. I used dark Havana rum (6 years old ) with gin and lime wedge.
What a lovely accident! I love your comparison to wine. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!
That’s a nice idea! We’ve got a ton of dark rum that I’m trying to use up before we move, and wasn’t sure what to do with it. I’ll definitely try out the rum and tonic.
Thanks, and best wishes,
Ryan
Ryan – Sounds like an excellent pre-move plan.
I tried the drink tonight because we had a lot of extra rum. Very tasty!
Ryan – Glad you liked it. It’s a family favorite!
Myers is a great choice. I go even darker with Goslings Black Label, Pussers Gunpowder, or Lamb’s Navy Rum. The bolder flavors balance better with the bitter effervescence of the tonic and the punch of lime. I learned this drink racing sailboats in the Great Lakes from an old salt who swore by its medicinal properties. And it worked! As far as I know, he never had scurvy.
I love the source! Great suggestions for alternatives to Myers’s Rum. I’ll have to seek out Pusser’s Gunpowder Rum and Lamb’s Navy Rum – they are both new to me.