A summery and creamy Caribbean-inspired rum cocktail

The Caribbean is synonymous with sun, sand and, of course, rum. Barbados, considered the original rum island, has long been associated with alcohol, which is made from sugar cane molasses. The local Bajans distilled the first rum over 400 years ago and have continued to refine the process since.

Some modern distillers, such as Bumbu Rum Company, produce rum from a blend of sugar cane sourced from across the region. “That means you get different flavor profiles from all over the Caribbean,” says Jacob Goss, co-owner of The Rum Diary Bar in Fitzroy and Newcastle.

Bumbu Original rum, with its natural sweetness, makes it a good “gateway” spirit for people who don’t consider themselves rum drinkers, Goss explains. “It’s really smooth on the palate, which makes it accessible for customers who aren’t too keen on dark spirits. In Rum Diary, we have a lot of customers who want to drink a gin tonic or a vodka and soda – which is good, we’re not judging – but when they decide to dive into dark spirits, we like to use that Rum. It’s so sweet, it’s easy to drink.

Notes of vanilla and banana are particularly prominent, the latter serving as the inspiration for Rum Diary’s Hakuna Banana cocktail. A take on the classic Pina Colada – one of the few cocktails everyone knows, says Goss – the Hakuna Banana is a riot of tropical flavors that’s just the ticket to summer entertaining.

Unlike Pina Colada, Hakuna Banana is a vegan cocktail. “Traditionally, Pina Coladas contain cream,” Goss notes, but the Hakuna banana uses a dairy-free coconut blend made from coconut cream and boiled sugar, which is then shaken with rum, fresh pineapple juice and “a little fresh lime to reduce the sweetness”, before being strained on ice.

It is a cocktail well suited to a kitsch style. At Rum Diary, the Hakuna Banana is served in a pineapple-shaped glass, garnished with pineapple leaves and homemade, dehydrated candied banana.

For those looking to add the Hakuna Banana to their home cocktail bar repertoire, Goss suggests investing in some basic cocktail equipment such as the shaker and strainer required in this recipe, so you don’t have to. look for substitutes in your kitchen cupboard. “It’s not expensive,” he said. “You can use stuff from home to get the job done, but it’s a little more difficult.”

Recipe: Banana Hakuna
Makes 1 serving. About. 1.9 standard drink.

Ingredients:
Cream
400g coconut cream
400g white sugar
Pinch of salt

Cocktail
60 ml of Bumbu Original rum
60 ml of fresh pineapple juice
20 ml fresh lime juice

Method:
Prepare the cream in advance. Combine the coconut cream, sugar and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Dissolve the sugar in the liquid over low heat. Coldness.

Combine 30 ml of chilled cream with the rest of the ingredients in a shaker and double filter through fresh ice into a pineapple-shaped glass (or any tall glass). Garnish with pineapple leaf and dehydrated candied banana.

This item is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Bumbu Original, an award-winning rum made from all-natural ingredients.