Spirits Rum 16 Refreshing White Rum Cocktails By Food & Wine Editors Updated on September 25, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen White rum is the foundation for a host of refreshing fruit-forward cocktails. Enjoy it in a classic mojito with lime and mint, blended with fresh, ripe strawberries for a daiquiri, or paired with pureed pineapple and coconut in the quintessential piña colada. Or try something a little different with a Banana-Rum Old-Fashioned or White Rum Aperol Spritz. Whatever you choose, it's bound to transport you to the breezes of a tropical beach, if only until your glass is empty. Read on for our favorite white rum cocktail recipes. 01 of 16 Pineapple Mojitos © Con Poulos Chef Jose Enrique's family comes from Cuba, where they were famous for their pineapple soda — it was once the country's most popular soft drink after Coke. Enrique makes a mojito version of it, using a rich brown sugar–pineapple syrup, rum, mint, and club soda. Get the Recipe 02 of 16 Watermelon Daiquiri Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Preparing fresh watermelon juice gives this blend-and-sip cocktail a burst of cool melon flavor, though fresh, high quality store-bought juice will work here, too. It's a rum drink for margarita lovers, with a salted rim that balances tart lime juice with sweet agave syrup. Get the Recipe 03 of 16 Hemingway Daiquiri © Wendell T. Webber In his 2001 book Straight Up or On the Rocks, William Grimes claims that Ernest Hemingway "often worked his way through about a dozen of these lime slurpees, sometimes ordering doubles, which became known as Papa Dobles." Get the Recipe 04 of 16 Banana-Rum Old-Fashioned Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A bold, strong cocktail with both high-proof bourbon and light rum gets a hit of floral sweetness from mellow crème de banane. Get the Recipe 05 of 16 Coconut Mojito Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Homemade coconut-mint syrup lends cool, quenching freshness to this lime-kissed, delightfully effervescent mojito. Blanching and shocking the mint leaves before infusing them into the syrup preserves their bright color. Get the Recipe 06 of 16 Cajun Lemonade WENDELL T. WEBBER A salute to the flavors of New Orleans, this cocktail spices up Napoleon House's Pimm's Cup (Pimm's No. 1, lemonade, and 7-Up) with a splash of Tabasco and a generous dose of rum. Get the Recipe 07 of 16 White Rum and Aperol Spritz Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Mildly spicy poblano liqueur and tangy passion fruit liqueur add delicious complexity to this white rum–spiked Aperol spritz. Boozy heat from white rum gives a pleasant bite to a bubbly summer staple. Choose your fizz: Use sparkling water to let the spirits and liqueurs shine through, or use a splash of sparkling wine to tame the tart piquancy of the drink for a mellower sip. Get the Recipe 08 of 16 Coquito Photo by Jacob Fox / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Jessica Thomas and Susan Mitchell Coquito, or "little coconut," is a traditional creamy rum punch served in Puerto Rico for Christmas and throughout the winter holidays. It's so good you might be tempted to serve the drink year-round. Get the Recipe 09 of 16 Strawberry-Rum Coolers Greg DuPree Ripe strawberries are cooked with lime, ginger, and agave until fragrant and tender, then get blended with both white and dark rum and topped with a float of ginger beer. Get the Recipe 10 of 16 Rum Negroni Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Ten to One distillery CEO/founder Marc Farrell's Rum Negroni takes the classic bitter drink in a refreshingly fruity direction. Teetering between sweet and bitter, Gran Classico Bitter's 25 aromatics add warmth and depth to this citrusy drink, and a twist of fresh grapefruit peel perfumes each sip, highlighting the floral, clean finish of white rum. Get the Recipe 11 of 16 Fresh and Easy Piña Coladas Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Coconut milk provides richness that rounds out sweet-tart chunks of frozen pineapple, adding a creamy texture to this lighter take on classic piña coladas that uses both white and dark rum. Be sure to vigorously shake the can of coconut milk before opening to recombine the coconut liquids and coconut cream. Get the Recipe 12 of 16 Frozen Hula Hoop Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis A sweet-tart blend of pineapple, raspberry, and lemon adds fresh fruit flavor to this slushy frozen drink from mixologist Erick Castro spiked with white rum, Aperol, and dry red wine. With plenty of heat from the trio of alcohols, those fresh summer fruits keep the drink well balanced. Get the Recipe 13 of 16 Aruba Ariba Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ana Kelly / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Fresh pineapple and orange juices paired with sweet, syrupy grenadine tint this vibrant Aruban cocktail a stunning deep orange-red. Despite a blend of vodka, white rum, and crème de banana, this drink does not have a strongly alcoholic bite but rather stays fruity and mellow. Get the Recipe 14 of 16 Strawberry Daiquiri Victor Protasio The best strawberry daiquiri is bright and full-flavored but never too sweet, balancing juicy berries and tart lime. This recipe ups the aromatic with a no-cook syrup made from mashed strawberries and fragrant lime peel. Get the Recipe 15 of 16 Fog Cutter © Wendell T. Webber For this refresher, white rum, gin, and brandy are combined with citrus and orgeat, then topped with an Amontillado sherry float. Get the Recipe 16 of 16 Mojito © Wendell T. Webber Although there have been versions of this rum-mint cocktail in Cuba since the late 1800s, it became an international sensation when Ernest Hemingway endorsed the mojitos at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana. Still, the drink didn't make its way into American bars until the 1960s, when it was served at New York's legendary La Fonda del Sol. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit