The Best Rum Sour

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Allows the rum to shine: So many tropical rum cocktails include multiple fruit juices, so you miss the nuances of the rum. And that’s not a dig — I love my Painkiller cocktail with cream of coconut, pineapple juice and orange juice. But a high-quality dark rum is so delicious that sometimes you need to let it take center stage. 

Makes you look like a master mixologist: With that beautiful frothy white topping, this drink is sure to get you plenty of accolades when you set it down in front of your guests. 

Perfect for a fancy dinner party or casual backyard gathering: Sure, this cocktail is beautiful enough to serve at a classy occasion, but with that tropical Caribbean rum, it’s perfect for a little tiki party on the patio. Who doesn’t appreciate a versatile recipe that can stay in your back pocket?

Ingredients

Rum: We want a dark aged rum as the base liquor for this recipe — save the light rum for mojitos. Getting deep into the rum world is incredibly complex, but to keep it simple, a dark rum is typically distilled from sugar cane molasses and then ages in charred oak barrels. The barrel-aging process imparts sweet vanilla, caramel and spice notes that make for a rich, complex spirit. I recommend getting the highest-quality dark rum that fits your budget.

Orgeat: This is a sweetener made from almonds. Orgeat is commonly used in rum tiki drinks, so I thought this would make a fun nod to rum’s Caribbean roots. Wow, it did not disappoint. To me, the orgeat really gives this rum sour a special touch. You can pick this up at the store or make your own orgeat syrup.

Lemon juice: This is the classic citrus used in sour cocktails. Make sure you use fresh lemon juice. Bottled juice or sour mix is not nearly as bright as real juice, and a good sour cocktail is all about using the best ingredients available. 

Egg white: If you’re new to home bartending, this may sound weird, but egg white is actually a common cocktail ingredient. This is what gives us that silky topping.

Don’t worry – it doesn’t taste eggy whatsoever. Honestly, the topping is almost tasteless. It’s more about adding a velvety texture.

Bitters: I used the standard angostura bitters. Again, I really want to let that rum shine. That said, I’m sure this rum sour would work well with orange bitters or spiced bitters, like ginger or cardamom.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: We begin by adding the rum, orgeat, lemon juice, egg white and a couple dashes of bitters to a cocktail shaker (photo 1). At this point, we do not add ice.

Step 2: Now we shake the drink for 30 seconds (photo 2). This is what’s known as the dry shake. 

Step 3: After the first shake, we remove the top and add a handful of fresh ice cubes (photo 3). 

Step 4: From here, we shake the drink again with the ice (photo 4). And you guessed it – this is our wet shake.

Step 5: For our final step, we strain the rum sour into a chilled coupe, sour or martini glass (photo 5). If you’re feeling fancy, a lemon twist makes a lovely garnish. Some people also like to add some decorative bitters on top of the drink.

All that’s left is to sip and enjoy! And if you love this delicious sour cocktail, don't miss these drinks.

• Boston sour
• Maple whiskey sour
• Cherry vodka sour
• Aperol sour
• Tequila sour
• Spiced cranberry whiskey sour

Recipe FAQs

Variations and Substitutions

Looking to make some recipe tweaks to fit your palate? Here are a few ideas.

• Matt and I tried this rum sour with both orgeat and simple syrup. We both agreed the orgeat gave this cocktail an even more delicious touch, but the version with sugar syrup is still great.
• You can also try an alternative sweetener, such as maple syrup, honey syrup or an infused syrup. For an infused syrup, ginger syrup, cherry syrup, raspberry syrup, chai syrup or vanilla bean syrup would all work nicely.
• If you have an egg allergy or just aren’t comfortable using a raw egg, you can substitute it for Fee Foam, which does not include any egg product, or 2 tablespoons of aquafaba, which is the liquid from a can of chickpeas.

Expert Tips

Don't let the egg white scare you: While recommended for best results, you can leave out the egg white or use an alternative frothing product. Again, the egg white does not give the cocktail a weird taste – I know that can sound bizarre to someone who has never had an egg white cocktail. The rum sour will still be delicious without it, but you’ll miss that wonderful texture.

Of course, some people have allergies or just aren’t comfortable using a raw egg. In that case, you can use Fee Foam, which does not include any egg product.

If you’re using a metal cocktail shaker: You might find using a mason jar with a solid lid is easier for the dry shake, and then you can use a regular cocktail shaker for the wet shake. In general, metal cocktail shakers rely on the cold ice to help create the seal while shaking, so the dry shake can get a bit messy and leak. 

We don’t want to waste that precious drink. A lidded jar takes care of that. If you don’t have a jar like that, you might want to wrap the shaker in a kitchen towel for the dry shake.

Pick the right lemon: Get a lemon that has some give when you gently squeeze it. A hard lemon is a sign that it’s dried out. 

Perfect Pairing

This rum-based cocktail calls for a Caribbean-inspired meal. Start with a bowl of my mango-habanero salsa or tropical pico de gallo and follow that up some lobster tacos, jerk chicken or jerk pork. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with some coconut-lime rice or bacon macaroni salad on the side. For dessert, my spiced orange tres leches is perfect with the vanilla and caramel flavors of the dark rum. 

Sounds like one delicious meal, huh? You’re about to be full and happy. 

For a cocktail that perfectly celebrates this favorite Caribbean spirit, I hope you make this rum sour. It’s the perfect refresher for any occasion.

Cheers!

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