Sunshine in a Glass: Bermudan Rum Cocktails

Nothing brings back the memories of your Bermuda holiday quite as well as recreating the flavour and tastes you enjoyed in the warm sunshine, on the pristine pink sand beaches and in the elegant cocktail bars of this beautiful island.

One way to do this is to bring back home a bottle of the famous Gosling Rum. This delectable drink has been distilled here for more than two hundred years, ever since vintner William Gosling first settled here to establish a distillery with ingredients he’d imported from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. Still run by the Gosling family today, the distillery produces some of Bermuda’s finest rum.

For anyone lucky enough to have enjoyed an elegant sundown at the Rum House Bar in Grotto Bay, watching the sunset from the beautiful terrace overlooking the ocean, my rum recipes will help recreate those Bermuda holiday memories for you... although this time you’ll be in your own kitchen!

The Rum Swizzle

Create a sophisticated rum cocktail that blends Gosling’s Black Seal and Gold Rum in a stylish martini glass with an elegant Rum Swizzle.

Ingredients:

4oz Gosling Black Seal Rum

4oz Gosling Gold Rum

5oz pineapple juice

5oz orange juice

Splash of grenadine (or for an authentic Bermudan flavour, Bermuda Falernum)

6 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Method:

Fill a blender with ice, add all the ingredients, churn until the cocktail is topped with foam. Strain and pour into a martini glass. Enjoy!

The Dark ‘n’ Stormy

For a touch of Bermuda spice, try this blend of Black Seal Rum and ginger beer, the cloudy liquid reminiscent of storm clouds brewing over the Atlantic.

Ingredients:

2oz Gosling’s Black Seal Rum

6oz Gosling’s Stormy Ginger Beer

Method:

Combine the liquids and stir until the mixture appears cloudy. Fill a tall glass with ice and pour the liquid over it.

Bermuda Fish Chowder

For me, this is a dish that brings back many memories of Bermuda. Holidays spent enjoying fish chowder on restaurant terraces under wonderful starlit skies come to mind. The hint of rum here adds a delicious dash of spicy island flavour.

Ingredients:

6 rockfish heads

Salt

1 onion (chopped)

1 pepper (chopped)

1 carrot (chopped)

1 potato (chopped)

1 leek (chopped)

1 stalk of celery (chopped)

Vegetable oil

Tomato paste

Tin of chopped tomatoes

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp curry

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp marjoram

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp tarragon

4 cloves of garlic

2 bay leaves

¼ cup Gosling’s Black Seal Rum

Sherry peppers

Method:

1. Boil the rockfish heads in well-salted water. Put the fish heads to one side, retain the saltwater stock.
2. Sauté the chopped vegetables in oil. Add tomato paste and simmer.
3. Add fish, saltwater stock, tinned tomatoes, garlic and all the herbs and spices. Allow to simmer.
4. Add rum and sherry peppers before serving.

Any of these recipes should whisk you back to your last Bermuda holiday.

Close your eyes and you’ll be sitting amidst the palm trees and wooden panelling of the Rum House Bar overlooking Grotto Bay once more.