How to make your own homemade spiced rum. It’s so much better than store-bought spiced rum and packed with so much flavour, it’s a real winter warmer!
Homemade Spiced Rum
A reader recently emailed asking for a good recipe for Spiced Rum so I thought I’d share mine here.
I’ve just been making a new batch for Christmas prezzies. OMG did she mention the C word, oh yes she did! Come on ladies (and gentlemen too of course!) let’s get started making some gorgeous goodies for the festive season.
After all, some things take time to mature and get better with age (like us ladies for example) so now is the time to embrace the C word and get cracking for Christmas.
Spiced Rums are available in the shops and of course, some are better than others. All are more expensive than ‘normal’ rum so making your own spiced rum saves money and means you are completely in charge of what goes in there so can make your own choices.
What type of rum to use in spiced rum
I use dark rum (the golden coloured stuff) not the white or Bacardi rum as the dark rum has a deeper richer flavour.
A bit like the difference between white sugar and a rich brown sugar.
Ingredients for spiced rum
- 1 bottle/750ml of dark/golden rum
- 2cm/1″ piece of fresh ginger
- 1 vanilla pod
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- 4 cardamom pods
- 2 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 all-spice berries
- Zest from half an orange (use an unwaxed orange but if you can’t get one then get a ‘normal’ orange and scrub with warm soapy water and nail brush and then rinse thoroughly and dry)
- 250g/1 cup of sugar
Here’s how to make your own spiced rum;
I use a large kilner jar for this, make sure jar is sterilised first.
- Put all your spices into the jar and add the rind of the orange, remember you only want the zesty outer peel not the bitter white pith.
- Bash the ginger to release juices and add to jar.
- Add the sugar and pour on that golden rum.
- Seal the jar and give it a good shake. Put in a cool dark cupboard and shake every day for the first few days to get the sugar to dissolve completely.
- After this leave it in there to mature and infuse and become all gorgeous and spicy, 1-2 weeks max.
- Pour the rum through cheesecloth or kitchen towels/coffee filter into a jug and decant into a pretty bottle and label.
How to serve spiced rum
This homemade spiced rum makes a great wee foodie gift.
Serve it straight as a shot or over ice.
Spiced rum is perfect for cocktail making.
Add some to your Christmas pudding or Christmas cake recipes for that added kick of flavour and booze.
Add a dash of spiced rum to a mug of coffee or hot chocolate on a chilly winter day.
Looking for more homemade hooch recipes? Then check these out before you go;
How to make Kalua coffee liqueur
Homemade Baileys Irish cream liqueur
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homemade spiced rum recipe
Ingredients
- 750 ml dark/golden rum
- 2 cm piece of fresh ginger
- 1 vanilla pod
- 2 small cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- 4 cardamom pods broken
- 2 cloves
- 1/2 tsp crushed nutmeg
- 2 allspice berries
- 1/2 orange zest only
- 250 g sugar
Instructions
- Put all your spices into the jar and add the rind of the orange, remember you only want the zesty outer peel not the bitter white pith.
- Bash the ginger to release juices and add to jar.
- Add the sugar and pour on that golden rum. Seal the jar and give it a good shake. Put in a cool dark cupboard and shake every day for the first few days to get the sugar to dissolve completely.
- After this leave it in there to mature and infuse and become all gorgeous and spicy, 1 week or 2 at most is enough.
- Pour the rum through cheesecloth or kitchen towels/coffee filter into a jug and decant into a pretty bottle and label.
Your recipe for Spiced Rum sounds absolutely delicious Karon and I’d love to give it a try but my husband doesn’t like rum and it would take me a long time to work through a whole bottle on my own (although I would give it my best shot, of course!)Do you think brandy would be a good alternative?
Ann x
Try it with brandy as it has a good deep flavoutr already to host the spices.
All best
K x
I love spiced rum, but was given a non-spiced bottle for Christmas. Could I use ground All Spice, instead of berries? If so would 1/4-1/2 tsp be best?
Thank you
Hi James,
Sorry for delay in repying. Don’t use allspice powder you need the whole spices. Using powdered spices just clouds the drink and you can’t get all the grittiness out.
K x
Have you ever tried this with a quality white rum?
Hi Terry
I used a dark rum as it says in the recipe, I haven’t tried it with a white rum myself. I like the flavour and depth of the dark rum and it works really well with the spices.
K