What to eat with dark rum – 5 types of food combinations with Rum and more
Cardinal rule number one: never imbibe on an empty stomach. New rule number two thousand twenty-two: food combinations with rum elevate your cocktail and dinner parties, your poker & other game nights, your stay-at-home movie gatherings and more. Not too long ago, the food pairing world managed to evolve past its former narrow mindset with more folks enjoying solo spirits as well as cocktails with not just bar snacks but also with the varying tiers of meal service. Rum accompaniments with a whole sway of food options are your ticket to satisfying palates of all degrees. Aged or dark rum mellows the texture of a spirit making it more compatible with to sip alongside food. Its natural spice character practically calls for a like minded partner. Its honeyed-molasses smoothness compliments both sweet/sour and savory fare. All that said, so what do you drink dark rum with?
5 Types of food combinations with Rum
Food combinations with rum take many ideas into consideration including whether the rum will work better mixed into a cocktail or whether the food has enough body or texture to stand up to the strength of rum and its character. To get you started with what to eat with rum, let’s consider some very key attributes to pairing with certain spirits. The higher alcohol of spirits can sometimes require a fuller bodied type of vittle like cheese, chocolate or even a charred medium rare steak to keep the peace of palate balance. Rum’s perceived sweet character, derived from its natural glycerin, has an inherent tendency to pair well with fresh or stewed fruits, but also with salty savory fare like bar snacks, nuts, pretzels, etc. Finally, nearly everyone has a favorite dreamy dessert pairing wherein the decadent confection is soaked in spirit during its inspired preparation and/or presentation. So let’s begin there, pairing within the parameters of these five types of food combinations with rum: snacks, cheese, fruit, dessert & chocolate.
PART ONE: What SNACKS to eat with rum (with Recipes!)
The best snacks to eat with rum usually have a nice toasty crunch to them or entertain a combination of elements like dried fruits, nuts, chocolate or cheese. Rum really loves the combination of sweet and savory with a hint of spice. Here are a few elevated snack ideas that go well with a pour of aged rum neat, over ice or with a splash of soda, cola or mixed into a Classic Daiquiri. Try these snacks with rum, like the Dos Maderas 5+3 or 5+5 and let us know what you think!
- Nutty Caramel Corn à la Za’atar
- Savory Spiced Rum Pretzels
- Tropical Sweet Trail Mix
Nutty Caramel Corn à la Za’atar Recipe
The easy version is to buy pre-made caramel corn, add roasted peanuts, and a dusting of store bought za’atar spice and stir or shake it all up. However, the best version involves making your own caramel corn as well as mixing your own za’atar spice blend and then baking everything together on a sheet pan. Set aside an hour and fifteen minutes and then begin.
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
STEP 2: Prepare 7 quarts of popcorn and spread out on two greased baking sheets. Add 2 cups of roasted peanuts and mix.
STEP 3: Prepare your Za’atar spice blend
Za’atar spice hails from countries all over the Middle East and typically consists of the following:
- Toasted sesame seeds to add a nutty richness
- Dried Mediterranean herbs such as thyme, hyssop, oregano or marjoram to add a woodsy floral vibe
- Sumac which contributes a tangy acidic tone
- Ground coriander and cumin can also be added to contribute more floral, citrusy, nutty and earthy notes
Try mixing about one tablespoon of each together.
STEP 3: Prepare your caramel. There are several caramel corn recipes out there to make at home, but I really love “My Amish Friend’s Caramel Corn” and the key is to add your Za’atar spice to the pot right after making the caramel.
Add to your stove pot and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring all the while:
- 2 cups brown sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup margarine
Remove from heat and then stir in:
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons of Za’atar spice
STEP 4: Pour caramel over your popcorn and bake for an hour, but remove them every 15 minutes and stir.
STEP 5: Remove entirely from the oven and dump on wax paper sheets. Let cool and break everything apart.
Savory Spiced Rum Pretzels Recipe
Whether you’re watching your favorite championship on tv, entertaining for poker night or bringing snacks to your D&D party, this recipe is perfect and also takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to prepare. Adapted from this fabulous Spiced Rum Pretzels recipe, start by picking up a big bag of mini pretzels.
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
STEP 2: Add to a saucepan on low heat:
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- ¼ cup Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp. granulated garlic
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
STEP 3: Stir then whisk everything until uniform
STEP 4: Pour butter mixture over pretzels in a large bowl and mix
STEP 5: Spread coated pretzels on a grease lined baking pan and bake for an hour, removing and stirring at 15 minute intervals.
STEP 6: Remove from heat and cool.
Tropical Sweet Trail Mix Recipe
This recipe, borrowed and tweaked from here, is great to make in large batches so you can grab a bowl at any time and have an easy snack pairing ready to serve in seconds. It’ll keep as long as you store it in dry sealed containers like tupperware or sandwich bags.
STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
STEP 2: Spread 1 cup of coconut shavings over a baking sheet and bake until just turning brown at the edges, roughly 5-7 minutes. Let cool.
STEP 3: Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl:
- 1 cup roasted almonds
- 1 cup cashews, raw, roasted and salted
- 1 cup raw walnut pieces
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 ¼ cup dried banana chips
- 1 cup dried pineapple chunks
- 1 cup toasted Coconut
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
Stay tuned for PART TWO: Fruit & CHEESE…