I am a wine drinker rather than a cocktail imbiber…whether it is that I am too lazy to be mucking about with mixers and garnishes (have I told you how fond I am of screwtops?) or too wise after years of silliness to mess with the high alcohol content of hard liquor is a matter you can decide for yourself.
Rum-Tini – the Caribbean martini alternative
But the cold weather somehow put me in the mood for a proper cocktail and I had brought some good white rum at the Duty-Free on my way home from Puerto Rico. I did come across some unusual cocktails and drinks (Click here for an article that includes an unbelievable cocktail called Toblerone – yeah, as in the chocolate. O.M.G. I will be experimenting with that on another occasion!), in my search but decided for this time to play with the flavors I already had at home and get some Kahlua in anticipation of another cocktail session.
Welcoming the weekend with a rum-tini toast
So I called Ashley, who rides shotgun on most of my beverage experiments, and we got to business. A little pantry and fridge rummage later, we had two very good cocktails that use the rum in a martini format. She preferred the pear, I was all over the cranberry.
Pear and Cinnamon Rum-Tini
A couple of notes – the honey is a terrific innovation and adds just the right sweet mellowness, but be warned: it will start to drip if it sits too long, so lap it up quick! I am particularly pleased with the toothpick-lime peel garnish that I cam up with rather than just tossing the lime peel in. So I am patting myself on the back for that one.
Set in the center of a sugar swirl: Cranberry Rum-Tini
Rum-Tinis
Cinnamon-Pear
Makes four
For the rim:
Honey, sugar, and powdered cinnamon each in its own shallow dish
For the drink:
8 oz. white rum
8 oz. pear juice
½ tsp lime juice
Garnish:
cinnamon sticks
Dip the rims of the glasses in the honey, then the sugar and finally the cinnamon. Shake the rum and juices together with abundant ice and strain into glasses. You may dip the cinnamon sticks into the remaining honey, if desired, before garnishing. You may also sprinkle additional cinnamon on the top.
Cranberry Rum-tini
(makes two generous rum-tinis)
Ingredients for the rim:
honey and sugar, each in a shallow dish
4 oz white rum
2 oz cranberry juice
½ tsp lime
Garnish:
lime peel speared with a toothpick
Dip the glasses in the honey and then the sugar. Shake rum and juices with ice, then strain into prepared glasses. Garnish with lime peel.
Hot, Cheap & Easy 
They both sound good but I think I would be partial to the pear one.
Yu are not the first to say that! I knew I’d prefer the cranberry..love the tanginess!
I love the tanginess of cranberry with vodka but there is something about pears and rum that sounded good.
There’s rum on the shelf just waiting for me–guess I have a tasty Rumtini in my near future! Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
Oh how I wish you were just down the road! c
The Kahlua does sound great! I volunteer to be a part of that experiment also. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Wow they look great. You know me, if it involves Kahlua, I am in. Very sophisticated looking!
Definitely click on the link to see the description of the Toblerone…I think we may have to try it…
Mmmmm….they both sound great! I think I would need to do a side-by-side taste test to see which one I liked the best! 🙂
Indeed. And you might just have to repeat the taste test several times. Just to be sure!
Does look lovely (and must confess Kahlua is a favourite)
Yeah, I think I will have to try that Toblerone at some point! Sounds incredible!
Excellent and they look quite sophisticated side by side. I think I’d go for the Cinnamon-Pear 🙂
The honey was a revelation…really rounded out the rum…might try maple syrup next time…