For A Uniquely Herbal Twist On Any Drink, Use Rhum Instead Of Gin

The fun of making cocktails lies in experimenting with different remixes to explore new flavors in your favorite classics. One particular swap to refresh your home-bartending game is rhum for gin. If you're thinking of rum in general (without the "h") this might sound counterintuitive. Rum tends to be sweet, with notes of vanilla, honey, spices, and fruits — how would that work in cocktails that hinge on gin's botanical, herbaceous profile? The first step to embracing this rhum-for-gin switch is understanding the differences between rum and rhum.

An entire category united by the common base ingredient of any sugar cane by-product, there are many different types of rum. Most of the ones we know well, like dark rum, white rum, and gold rum, are made by fermenting and then distilling molasses, a by-product of refining sugar cane juice. But rhum, often known as rhum agricole, or agricultural rum, is made from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice. It comes right from the stalk, which is why it's seen as more closely connected with farmers and local land — speaking of which, it's primarily made in French islands of the Caribbean, like Martinique and Guadeloupe. Owing to its fresh sugar cane base, rhum agricole is not sweet like other rum types; it's earthy and herbaceous, more similar to gin. Plus, it has its own unique vegetal, grassy, funky notes. Rhum could easily provide those herby flavors in a gin cocktail while punching up tried-and-true recipes with hints of savoriness and tartness.

There are a few simple gin classics that make for an easy start when experimenting with rhum. For instance, the traditional gimlet combines gin with lime and simple syrup; the Tom Collins 1830 mixes gin with lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda; and the classic gin rickey is gin, lime, and club soda. By making these tipples with rhum instead, you can enjoy how rhum's herbaceous earthiness balances with simple syrup's sweetness and lemon or lime's acidity and sourness. The three elements create a complex yet harmonious, rounded finish, and club soda zings it up with refreshing effervescence. 

Rhum agricole would also be delicious in the famous gin cocktail the last word. Use it along with the drink's maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse, and lime juice. Again, you'll see the rhum at work tempering sweetness and acidity, but its herbaceous earthiness will match that of the chartreuse — together, rhum and chartreuse will deliver a complex bouquet of botanicals, herbs, and spices. For a more tropical direction, try a popular favorite among bartenders, a corpse reviver no. 2 with rhum instead of gin. The cocktail employs orange liqueur, Lillet blanc aperitif wine, absinthe, and lemon juice. Rhum would balance the sweetness and acidity at work while providing its own tart pop and would play with the absinthe to highlight more herbs and botanicals.