Rum And Lemonade: The Perfect Summer Sipper

There’s just something about Rum and setting the mood for the Summer. Maybe it’s the association with the Caribbean, but rum cocktails always make me feel like I’m on vacation. Today we’re going to learn how to make a Rum and Lemonade along with a few delicious variations.

What is a Rum and Lemonade?

Obviously, a Rum and Lemonade is a cocktail made with both Rum and Lemonade. What is particularly nice about this cocktail is you can truly customize it to your own personally preferred flavor profile.

What I mean is you can use any kind of rum you like; white, dark, gold, coconut, etc. You can also use store bought lemonade or make your own so you have control over the sweet to sour ratio. We will also show you how to mix the lemonade directly with the drink so you don’t have to make a full pitcher.

Why Lemonade?

As we said above, rum gives us extreme Summer vibes (not that it isn’t great all year round). What other non-alcoholic drink is more Summery than Lemonade? I’ll answer for you:

There is none!

So, naturally, rum and lemonade go hand in hand. Lemonade is also a great mixer because the lemon’s natural tart flavor combined with added sugar helps to soften the edge of the alcohol and makes for a much smoother, and therefore, please drinking experience (much like a Rum and Cranberry also).

That’s not just for rum, that applies for many, many liquors. Don’t believe me? Try out a Vodka, Tequila, Gin, or Whiskey and Lemonade and taste for yourself. Additionally, this same principle works for orange juice (try a Whiskey and OJ) and sodas, like Coke and Sprite, too!

But enough about those other drinks, let’s check out today’s recipe!

How to make this drink:

Rum and Lemonade is very easy to make. You basically need two ingredients. We will, however, get into some more robust variations later.

Step 1

Start out by chilling your highball glass. You do this by sticking it in the freezer. This is optional but really makes the drink crisp and refreshing.

Step 2

Fill up a mixing tumbler with ice.

Step 3

Decide on the type of rum you want and pour in 1 ½ oz. (2 oz of rum if you’re using premixed lemonade; store bought or homemade)

If using store bought or homemade from a pitcher, skip to Step 4b.

Step 4

Add in 2 oz of Simple Syrup and 2 oz of lemon juice.

Step 3b

Top off your glass with 4 oz of Lemonade

Step 5

Pour your drink from the mixer to your glass a few times.

Step 6

Stick a lemon wedge on the side of your glass as a garnish and enjoy!

Alternative Versions

I mentioned earlier that there are some variations you can try. Let’s take a look at those.

Holy Water Drink

This adds in Blue Curacao, Peach Schnapps and Vodka with fresh cut fruit. Easy to make by the pitcher.

Sparkling Rum Lemonade

There are 2 options for this cocktail. One involves champagne and the other is club soda. You can choose whichever you like. Obviously they both will make it bubbly. Champagne will add a different flavor though. Both follow the same basic recipe as the Rum and Lemonade recipe above.

For champagne simply add in 1 ½ oz of your chosen champagne. Easy peasy!

For club soda, add 2 oz of rum instead of 1 ½ and then add 2 oz of club soda. That’s it!

Boston Rum Punch

Who doesn’t love a good punch? This Boston Rum Punch (idk why it’s named after Boston, to be honest) is almost identical to the Rum and Lemonade recipe above with one tiny exception. Just make sure you use Coconut or Jamaican Rum and use a strawberry or orange wheel as a garnish.

A variation of this punch recipe is to add an additional 1 oz of dark rum and 2 oz of pineapple juice. It’s not a big change but it makes a huge flavor difference.

For more great cocktails