Celebrate National Rum Day With This Easy Cocktail

August 16 is National Rum Day, meaning it's time to whip up a few rum cocktails. Sure, piña coladas and daiquiris are great, but to celebrate today's very important holiday, we're going to go with something a bit simpler, yet still delicious. That's where this Dark and Stormy recipe comes in.

Now, there is a very official and legally copyrighted way to make these cocktails, but we're going to give this drink our own festive twist. It's true that our Dark and Stormy isn't going to taste like a traditional one, in no small part because I like to use a different type of rum than what the original recipe calls for. For this drink, I used Flor de Caña 12, which is an aged rum that has lots of brown sugar and caramel notes. However, it is not a spiced rum, which will change the taste of the cocktail. Whatever rum you use, though, it needs to be a strong one, or your drink will just taste watery.

And then there's the plum. That's right, we're going to muddle a plum right into our Dark and Stormy. It's stone fruit season, and you should take full advantage of that. Plums, with their nice balance of sweetness and astringency, pair well with both dark rum and ginger, making them a natural fit for this cocktail. Plus, the muddled skin gives the drink a beautiful mauve color.

You could definitely make a regular Dark and Stormy, but why not take an extra minute to add an extra layer of dark, fruity complexity to your drink? Make a few with different fruits, like nectarines and pluots, and see how the flavor changes. Just make sure you don't have anywhere important to be for the next few hours, and enjoy National Rum Day!

Plum Dark And Stormy

What You'll Need:

• 1-2 ripe plum slices
• 2 oz. dark or spiced rum
• Ginger beer (not to be confused with ginger ale, which won't be strong enough — try Gosling's or Reed's Extra Ginger Brew)
• Lime wedge

Muddle the plum with the rum. If you don't like the pulpy bits in your drink, you can do this in a separate glass, and strain it. Otherwise, muddle it right in your cocktail glass. Add ice to fill, and top with ginger beer. Finish with a squeeze of lime.

What does the perfect glass of wine look like? Check out our video below, and visit Bustle on YouTube.

Images: Leigh Kunkel