This super simple and perfectly sweet cocktail is the best late afternoon or Sunday brunch drink. The secret lies in the spiced syrup.
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She's the sweeter, more approachable baby sister of my spiced mai tai. The spiced demerara syrup can be made with demerara, raw or just plain ol' granulated sugar. It only takes a few minutes on the stovetop and takes a classic rum and orange juice up, like, five notches.
I like to use triple sec in this drink because it's easy to get my hands on, but Cointreau is always a delicious bet. (Did you know you can bake with triple sec in any recipe that calls for Cointreau?)
How to make a spiced rum and oj
Cocktail ingredients
- rum of choice
- triple sec or Cointreau
- orange juice
- spiced simple syrup
- sparkling water optional
Spiced demerara syrup
- water
- demerara sugar or raw
- cinnamon sticks
- whole cloves
- star anise or allspice berries
Spiced rum and oj recipe
- Spiced Simple Syrup: combine the water, sugar of choice, cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally to prevent the sugar from scorching to the pan. This should only take a few minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Strain with a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth to remove spices.
- Cocktail: combine rum, triple sec, orange juice and spiced syrup into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into lowball glasses over ice and garnish as desired.
Looking for beautiful, giant circular balls of ice? I use these ice molds.
Garnish
- orange twist
- orange wheel optional
- cinnamon sticks optional
- star anise optional
Want to try your hand at baking with some of that rum? Check out these pirate cookies or my mini maple pecan buns!
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Recipe
Spiced Rum and Orange Juice
Print RecipeEquipment
- shaker
- lowball glasses
Ingredients
Spiced Demerara Syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup demerara sugar or raw
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise or allspice berries
- 5 cloves
Spiced Rum and OJ
- ice separated
- 2 oz spiced rum
- 2 oz orange juice
- 1 oz triple sec or cointreu
- ½ oz spiced demerara syrup or simple syrup
- sparkling water optional
Garnish
- 1 orange twist
- 1 orange wheel
- 1 cinnamon stick optional
- 1 star anise optional
Instructions
Spiced Demerara Syrup
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine all of the ingredients. Stir gently to combine.
- Stir occasionally until all of the sugar is dissolved. This will only take a few minutes.
- Strain into a jar or container and let cool for at least 20 minutes before using.
Spiced Rum and OJ
- Add all cocktail ingredients except sparkling water to shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds and strain into lowball glass.
- Top with fresh orange juice and sparkling water, if desired.
- Garnish the glasses with orange slices, cinnamon, and star anise (if using).
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cointreau makes for a delicious substitute for triple sec.
- I typically go for a decent, mid-shelf spiced rum for this cocktail.
- Simple syrup can absolutely be used in place of the spiced demerara syrup, or you can make a spiced simple syrup with white sugar.
kitchenverve.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes on our site. This information is provided as a courtesy from online calculators and should be used only as an estimate. Although we attempt to provide the most accurate nutritional information possible, these figures will vary based on your chosen ingredients and cooking methods.
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