Rum and Coke gets lumped in with drinks people order when they can’t think of anything else. Honestly, it’s true. Go to any random bar in America and you will find someone ordering a rum cola.

It’s a decent combination, especially if you don’t love the taste of alcohol.

However, when you use dark rum and get the ratio right, it tastes like a cocktail rather than something poured from a soda stream at a sports bar.

The rum question

Most people default to white rum, which works fine, but with dark rum, the whole drink gets richer. Gosling’s Black Seal brings the molasses and depth that are already a part of cola.

Spiced rum, like Captain Morgan, tends to be sweeter, but it always comes down to what you like.

Which cola to use

Mexican Coke, made with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup (like we get in the States), makes a much better rum and Coke since it’s less sweet, with a cleaner finish.

I can find it almost anywhere in California, but if it’s not in your local grocery store, check out a Mexican grocery store if you can, or order it online.

Ratio

The standard 2 oz rum to 4 oz cola runs too sweet for my taste. I prefer 2 oz rum to about 3 to 3.5 oz cola. It lets the rum come through more, and less like a Coca-Cola with a splash of rum.

Why add lime?

A lime wedge squeezed into the glass will get your rum and Coke closer to a Cuba Libre, which is technically a three-ingredient drink, but the lime doesn’t read as a separate flavor so much as it brightens the whole thing.

My citrus juicer makes juicing limes from my lime tree so much faster than by hand or with one of those little plastic ones you find at the store.

The 3-Ingredient Upgrade: Add Spice

Add 2 dashes of Angostura bitters before topping with cola. Bitters add depth without sweetness.

You can also express an orange peel over the glass before dropping it in. The citrus oils cut through the cola’s sweetness, making the drink taste less syrupy.

Mocktail Version

Cola with a squeeze of lime and a splash of cranberry juice for color and tartness sounds weird, but it’s a fun replacement for rum and Coke.

Non-alcoholic whiskey or a dark NA spirit also works if you want something closer to the real thing, but in this case, the coke can carry that molasses taste that rum brings into the cup.

Ice and glassware

A highball glass with clear ice keeps the drink colder longer and dilutes more slowly.

I use a clear ice cube maker at home. For everyday use, silicone ice cube trays are easier to use than those stiff plastic ice trays your freezer came with.

Other rum cocktails to try:

• Blood Orange Ginger Smash
• Pineapple Thyme Punch

More 2-Ingredient Rum Cocktails:

• Dark ’n Stormy
• Rum & Coke
• Rum & Soda
• Rum Guava
• Rum Iced Coffee
• Rum Lemonade
• Rum Mango
• Rum Pineapple
• Rum Sprite
• Rum Tonic
• Rum Watermelon

Rum and Coke

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 2 oz dark rum (or white rum)
• 4 oz cola
• Lime wedge, for garnish

Instructions

1. Fill a highball glass with ice.
2. Add rum.
3. Top with cola and stir gently.
4. Squeeze a lime wedge over the top and drop it in.

Spiced Glow-Up (3-Ingredient Version)

Ingredients

• 2 oz dark rum
• 4 oz cola
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Orange peel, for garnish

Instructions

1. Fill a highball glass with ice.
2. Add rum and bitters.
3. Top with cola and stir gently.
4. Hold the orange peel skin-side down over the glass, bend to express the oils, then drop it in.