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Cocktail History
The Rum Daisy is a classic cocktail that was created in the late 1800s. It’s traditionally made with white rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, and orange liqueur and is said to be a precursor to the Margarita. Although no longer seen on many menus using these specifications in modern times, the drink was quite popular back in the Gilded Age, especially among Americans who crossed the border to Mexico to partake in spirits during Prohibition.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
White Rum: This is a type of rum made with molasses or sugar cane juice and a neutral spirit that is filtered and bottled right away without the aging process. We used Havana Club 3 Year Old Rum because it has a crisp rum flavor with notes of lime, marzipan, allspice, ground ginger, and oak. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic White Cane Spirit in place of the rum.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Triple Sec: This is a liqueur made with bitter oranges, lemons, sugar, and alcohol. We used Cointreau because it’s one of the highest quality orange liqueurs on the market. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur.
Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a lemon that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. We used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Tasting Notes
The Rum Daisy features aromas of slightly nutty rum and a relatively sweet taste made up of smooth, inoffensive rum, tart citrus, and the slightest note of orange.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: We thought this recipe was quite tasty, albeit sweet while still being heavy on the liquor. The Rum Daisy will certainly get you tipsy quickly if you have a lower tolerance for alcohol and would be a great template for showcasing a new rum.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“The Rum Daisy was hard to narrow down to one recipe since most sources we found were somewhere between ‘a bit different in specs’ and ‘Yellow Chartreuse.’ Since the recipe is of the vintage variety, we stuck to this version from the book as it’s similar to many others from the era. It’s a super inoffensive and tasty drink, and although it didn’t blow our socks off, it is totally crushable on a warm day. Fans of the Daiquiri will get a lot from this because it has a lot of similarities, but its inclusion of a bit of orange and its swap of lemon for lime to certainly set it enough apart.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“This is another extremely simple drink that is noticeably meant to be a template and not the final result in today’s cocktail culture. I would call this a great recipe for rum tastings, similar to its cousin the Gin Daisy, because there are so few ingredients there to compete with whatever rum you’re using. I can’t say that I would make it again as is because there are several other classic rum drinks that offer more complexity than this one, but it is quite tasty.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Art of Vintage Cocktails by Stephanie Rosenbaum.
Add rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, triple sec, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Add rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, triple sec, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic White Cane Spirit in place of the rum and Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Rum Cocktails
If you like this rum-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Zombie: A rum cocktail made with velvet falernum liqueur, Donn’s mix, lime juice, absinthe, grenadine, Angostura aromatic bitters, and mint
Jamaican Mule: A rum cocktail made with ginger syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice, Angostura aromatic bitters, candied ginger, a lime slice, and an orchid blossom
Greena Colada: A rum cocktail made with triple sec, lime juice, lemon juice, Green Chartreuse, velvet falernum liqueur, crème of coconut, mint, and a lime wheel
Plum Swizzle: A brandy, rum, and plum wine cocktail made with orange juice, lime juice, orgeat syrup, crème de violette, absinthe, mint, and an orange twist
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