Coffee and Rum: 2 Flavours That Combine So Well It’s Literally Sensational!

There are certain smells that can stop you in your tracks. Fresh bread, woodsmoke on a crisp autumn day, the sea after the rain, and somewhere very near the top of the list has to be freshly brewed coffee.

So, with International Coffee Day in mind, we thought it was a good moment to look at something we know rather well at Rosemullion: coffee and rum.

Can you ‘improve’ your coffee with rum? Absolutely. Before coffee cocktails became fashionable, fortifying your cup was altogether less glamorous: a splash from the bottle, a raised eyebrow, and nobody asking too many questions. In fact, the two have far more in common than you might imagine — and once autumn arrives, there are few combinations quite as comforting.

Why do coffee and rum work so well together?

The simple answer is flavour of course. Coffee can contain notes of chocolate, caramel, nuts, fruit and spice, depending on the beans and how they are roasted. Rum can bring many of the same flavours: caramel, vanilla, spice, dried fruit, oak and molasses.

Put the two together and rather than fighting for attention, they tend to complement one another. The bitterness of coffee can temper the sweetness and warmth of rum, while a good rum adds body and depth to coffee.

There is another similarity too. Neither coffee nor rum is simply about one ingredient.Coffee starts with a bean, but variety, climate, processing, roasting and brewing all influence what finally arrives in the cup. Rum begins with sugar cane or molasses, but fermentation, distillation and, in many cases, ageing in wood transform it into something altogether more complex.

At Rosemullion, where we make our own base rum from molasses and distil it ourselves here in Cornwall, that process matters enormously. In both worlds, small decisions can make a surprisingly big difference.

Can you put rum in coffee?

Yes — and you don’t need to turn it into an elaborate cocktail.

The easiest rum and coffee drink is simply a measure of rum added to freshly brewed coffee.

As a starting point:

Simple Rum Coffee

• 150–200ml freshly brewed coffee
• 25–35ml dark, gold or aged rum
• Brown sugar or demerara sugar, if you like it sweeter
• Cream, optional

Pour the rum into a heatproof glass or mug, add the coffee and taste before adding sugar.

That’s really all there is to it. A dark or aged rum tends to work particularly well because its richer flavours can stand up to the coffee rather than disappearing into it.

What is the best rum for coffee?

There isn’t one correct answer because it depends on the coffee — and on what you like.

Gold or aged rum is probably the easiest place to begin. Vanilla, oak, caramel and spice sit naturally alongside a medium or dark-roasted coffee.

Dark rum gives a deeper, richer result and works particularly well if your coffee has chocolatey or nutty flavours.

Spiced rum can be excellent if you want something warming, with flavours such as cinnamon, vanilla or clove.

And if you’re drinking a lighter, fruitier coffee, don’t automatically assume you need the darkest rum in the cupboard. Sometimes a lighter rum allows more delicate flavours to come through.

The enjoyable part is experimenting.

And then there’s coffee liqueur

Coffee and rum don’t only have to meet in a mug.

Rosemullion’s own Coffee Liqueur combines gold rum with roasted Italian coffee, bringing the two flavours together from the outset. It is 22% ABV and was created to retain a proper coffee character rather than simply becoming something overwhelmingly sweet.

Naturally, you can use coffee liqueur in an Espresso Martini — and we’ve already written about the story of that famous cocktail elsewhere on the Rosemullion blog.

But it certainly doesn’t have to end there.

Try coffee liqueur:

• over ice after dinner;
• added to hot coffee;
• poured over vanilla ice cream;
• with a little cream;
• alongside a chocolate pudding;
• or mixed with a measure of good rum over ice.

No cocktail shaker required.

Coffee and rum around the world

The idea of mixing coffee and spirits is hardly new.

The Irish famously add whiskey and cream to coffee. In Italy, a caffè corretto is an espresso “corrected” with a splash of spirit. Spain has the carajillo, while coffee, rum and coffee liqueurs have long been natural companions throughout parts of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Different traditions, different spirits — but much the same idea.

Strong coffee, a warming measure of alcohol and a moment to sit down and enjoy both.

Perhaps our ancestors had the right idea!

Hot coffee or iced coffee with rum?

In autumn and winter, hot coffee with aged or dark rum is difficult to beat. The heat opens up the aromas in both coffee and spirit and creates something particularly comforting after dinner. But coffee and rum needn’t be confined to cold weather.

Cold brew coffee with rum, plenty of ice and perhaps a little orange peel makes a very different drink: lighter, less pudding-like and particularly good when the weather is warmer.

So although International Coffee Day arrives conveniently at the beginning of October, this is really a year-round partnership.

From bean to barrel

Perhaps the reason coffee and rum work so well together is that both reward a little curiosity.

You can become extremely serious about either of them if you want to: varieties, fermentation, roast, distillation, barrels, ageing, water, temperature and tasting notes can keep enthusiasts happily occupied for years.

But you don’t have to.

Sometimes the most important question is simply:

Does it taste good?

Pour a little good rum into good coffee and find out.

Wishing you a Happy International Coffee Day!

The Rosemullion Distillery Team

P.s. If you want to  know more about coffee then Wiley Online  an excellent resource!