13 Best Rum Drinks for Summer

Summertime is the perfect time for cocktail parties, and that means it’s time to break out the best rum drinks for summer. We gathered the top summer rum cocktails to enjoy on a hot summer day – or night! Whether you’re planning one giant shindig or plan on sipping on cocktails all summer long, we’re sure there’s a rum drink on this list that you’ll love. 

Key Takeaways

  • Rum cocktails are great for summer, especially those that feature fresh juices and tropical flavors.
  • Rum is a spirit that goes with just about anything, from passion fruit puree and sour mix to champagne or cola. 
  • Having a good punch recipe with rum in your arsenal will take you far for summer entertaining. 
  • While each cocktail recipe might call for a particular type of rum, don’t hesitate to use the type of rum you like best.
  • Have fun and play around with flavored rums for your summer cocktails.

13 Deliciously Refreshing Summer Rum Cocktails 

Malibu Sunset Cocktail 

By Food Lovin’ Family

If you’re looking for a refreshing summer rum cocktail, this is it! It’s also easy to create with just a few ingredients. Coconut rum, like Malibu, is a must, and you’ll also need pineapple juice and grenadine. 

To really play up the tropical flavors of this cocktail, you can use fresh ingredients, like extracting all of the pineapple juices from a fresh pineapple. Yes, it’s more work, but in our opinion, it’s also worth it. Serve this drink over crushed ice, garnished with maraschino cherries and pineapple. 

Rum Runner 

By No Spoon Necessary

The Rum Runner is a classic, and it’s also full of tropical aromas that make it the perfect summer drink. For this, you combine both dark rum and white rum, along with banana liqueur, blackberry liqueur, orange juice, pineapple juice, fresh lime juice, and grenadine in your cocktail shaker with a hefty dose of crushed ice. 

After giving it a few good shakes, pour over fresh ice in chilled glasses for a cocktail that’s perfect for beating the summer heat. 

Mai Tai 

By Mom On Timeout

The Mai Tai is a classic cocktail that became popular in the “tiki era.”  Although it has made a resurgence, we have to argue that it never went out of style. 

A combination of dark or aged rum and light rum is mixed with orgeat syrup, lime juice, and an orange liqueur like orange curaçao. Make sure you don’t use blue curacao because that will affect the presentation of the drink. 

The dark rum gets floated on top of the drink after it’s mixed to create a layered, floating effect. You could serve this in a regular cocktail glass, but to get the most out of the presentation, opt for a tiki mug instead. A maraschino cherry is a must for this favorite of summer rum cocktails, but a wedge of lime also works nicely.  

Painkiller Cocktail 

By Tasting Table

If there was ever a rum drink that instantly transports us to a white sand beach, the Painkiller is it. You need a good dark rum, like Meyers’s Rum, some orange juice, pineapple juice, and coconut cream

The best way to serve this is to shake and then pour over crushed or cracked ice so that it’s almost like a slushie. A little sprinkling of grated nutmeg is the final touch. This is, by far, one of our all-time favorite tropical drinks. 

Blue Hawaiian 

By The Kitchen Magpie

The Blue Hawaiian is a drink that looks as good as it tastes. Full of tropical flavor, this is the famous blue tropical drink that you’ve seen in movies. 

Blue curacao is what gives this drink its blue color and a hint of orange flavor. You also want to add rum (either coconut rum or white rum), pineapple juice, coconut cream, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Pour this favorite rum drink of crushed ice and garnish with orange slices or other tropical fruits. 

Watermelon Mojitos 

By Spend with Pennies

When we’re in the mood for the ultimate refreshing drink, a perfectly prepared mojito often tops the list. This watermelon mojito recipe that combines fresh fruit and fresh mint rate really high on our list of the best summer rum cocktails. 

Watermelon is pureed and strained to produce watermelon juice. Then gently muddle it with fresh mint leaves before adding in lime juice, simple syrup, and rum. Then it’s topped with club soda or soda water. 

Garnish with a fresh mint sprig and enjoy this light, refreshing treat.

Blueberry Mojitos 

By Dish N The Kitchen

Speaking of mojitos – this blueberry version is nothing short of luscious. Muddling fresh blueberries releases all of their juiciness and flavor. Then the muddled berries are combined with homemade mint simple syrup, lime juices, white rum, and soda water. 

If you want to mix things up a little, our favorite variation on this cocktail recipe is to use coconut rum and a splash of ginger ale or ginger beer instead of soda. A dash or two of Angostura bitters never hurt, either! 

Garnish this beauty with a nice thick lime wedge, and then you’re all set.

Pina Colada 

By Crazy For Crust

Most everyone has heard of the piña colada and knows it to be one of the tasty drinks of summer. This is a drink that’s best served frozen, although you could prepare it on the rocks – it just will lack that frozen creaminess that the drink is known for. 

To make this classic, you need just rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, and ice. Simple right? There are variations you could take on the classic recipe, but why mess with perfection?

Tipsy Mermaid 

By Girl Inspired

The Tipsy Mermaid is super refreshing and great for sipping on the beach — or when you’re sitting on your back patio wishing you were at the beach. Blue curacao lends a color that’s perfectly blue and brings to mind how carefree mermaids would be if they were actually real (or maybe they are!). 

You just need white rum (coconut rum would work, too!), pineapple juice, blue curacao, and Midori. You could easily turn this into a summer rum punch by multiplying the ingredients and tossing them in your favorite punch bowl. 

Strawberry Rum Cocktail 

By 2 Cookin Mamas

Let’s see. Fresh strawberries – check. Our favorite rum – check. Grand Marnier AND champagne – double check! This summer rum drink features all of our favorites and combines them into one deliciously light and fruity drink. This is the best champagne cocktail for a summer brunch. 

If you’re not a fan of champagne, we think you can still enjoy this cocktail but substitute something equally bubbly but non-alcoholic in its place, such as a nice ginger beer. Personally, we think fresh strawberries are a must for this cocktail, but you could use frozen strawberries in a pinch. 

Rum Grapefruit Smash

Via Punchfork

There has been a lot of talk on this list about orange, pineapple, and lime juices, but we couldn’t leave out a rum cocktail recipe with one of our favorite ingredients – grapefruit juice! The tartness of fresh grapefruit is muddled with simple syrup or agave sweetener and fresh rosemary. Serve with your absolute favorite rum over ice, and enjoy. 

Strawberry Basil Daiquiri 

By Ten To One

Everyone knows the classic strawberry daiquiri, but this cocktail recipe takes it up a notch with the addition of strawberry basil syrup. You need to make the syrup yourself, but it’s super easy and requires just a couple of ingredients. The fresh flavors of this drink are more than worth any extra effort you put in.

If you want a drink with even more tropical flavor, we suggest adding in some passion fruit puree and then shaking well. This would also make a lovely frozen drink. 

Classic Rum Punch Recipe 

By Amanda’s Cookin

A good, simple rum punch recipe is something everyone should have in their cocktail arsenal. We love this one from Amanda’s Cookin because it’s simple, full of fresh juices, and has that flavor that everyone runs to the punch bowl for. 

Frozen pineapple juice concentrate is a secret ingredient here, along with grenadine. This is a good basic recipe to memorize because you can use it as your base and then add so many different variations to it.

FAQs

What is a good summer drink with rum?

Can we say any drink with rum is a good summer drink? Seriously, though, a good rum punch, a pina colada, Mai Tai, a mojito, and a Malibu Sunset are all great. You can even keep it simple by sipping on a classic rum and Coke with a squeeze of lime.

What is the most popular rum drink?

We think that daiquiris are the most popular rum drink of all time, especially once you toss strawberries into the mix. Of course, rum and Coke are insanely popular, but a good strawberry daiquiri is one of those drinks that serves as a cocktail and fruity summer dessert rolled into one. 

Can you drink rum in the summer?

Why not drink rum in the summer? Rum is the main component of many great summer cocktails, including everything from a classic rum punch to tropical Tiki drinks like the Mai Tai or Painkiller. 

13 Best Rum Drinks for Summer

  • Malibu Sunset Cocktail
  • Rum Runner
  • Mai Tai
  • Painkiller Cocktail
  • Blue Hawaiian
  • Watermelon Mojitos
  • Blueberry Mojitos
  • Rum Runner
  • Pina Colada
  • Tipsy Mermaid
  • Strawberry Rum Cocktail
  • Rum Grapefruit Smash
  • Strawberry Basil Daiquiri
  • Classic Rum Punch Recipe
Drinks
Rum

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