Brighten your winter with these four Don Papa Rum cocktails
Putting Filipino rum on the map and bringing the spirit of this island nation to your glass, Don Papa Rum is the perfect sipper to banish the incoming winter blues. Try your hand at these recipes for a tastebud trip to the tropics
Technically, the home of Don Papa Rum doesn’t exist. Sugarlandia, the brand’s fictional world, is a lush dreamscape of verdant palm trees, rainbow birds and rolling fields of sugarcane. While the place might not be real, it’s inspiration is: Negros Occidental – the island where the sugar that goes on to become Don Papa is harvested and the liquid itself is distilled and aged. The line between fact and fiction feels increasingly blurred when you’re there.
Vivid orange sun beats down, pastures of cane are interrupted only by craggy peaks in one direction, and emerald green jungle in the other, continuing as far as the eye can see until it seems to meet the crystalline ocean all of a sudden, flanked by pristine swathes of bleached white sand.
It couldn’t be further from dark and dreary London. But one sip of Don Papa Rum, with its rich flavour and lingering warmth seems to transport you to that saccharine island, and a few of these signature cocktails will do a good job of brightening up the incoming winter and enlivening your night. We’ll cheers to that.
Behold Don Papa’s twist on the legendary Pornstar Martini. Vanilla vodka is swapped out for Don Papa Rum and shaken with pineapple juice, passionfruit syrup, lemon juice, and egg white to make for a tropical tipple. For the perfect finish, serve in a large chilled coupe and finish with a dash of prosecco.
Ingredients
40ml Don Papa Rum
20ml Passion fruit syrup
25ml Pineapple juice
25ml Lemon juice
20ml Egg white
45ml Prosecco
Method
Combine all ingredients apart from prosecco in a cocktail shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 seconds to emulsify egg white.
Add ice and shake hard for 10-15 seconds.
Single strain into a chilled large coupe.
Top with 45ml Prosecco.
Chocolate Wonderland
Spiced, fruity and downright delicious, the Chocolate Wonderland is the perfect winter tipple
Chocolate wonderland
Serves 9
Preparation time 12 hours
Cooking time 0 minutes
East meets west with this fragrant cocktail that marries Don Papa Rum with red wine, cognac, cacao, dried apricots and star anise. Left to infuse overnight, simply make the night before drinking, and you've got pre-made Friday night cocktails sorted. Winner.
Ingredients
350ml Don Papa Rum
350ml Shiraz
150ml Cognac
50g Dried apricots
10g Cacao nibs
1g Star anise
1g Salt
1g Black peppercorns
Method
Pour Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cover, allow to infuse overnight.
Strain off the spices, apricots, and cacao nibs.
Filter using a coffee filter and bottle. Keep chilled in the refrigerator.
For one serving, pour 90ml into a rock glass and garnish with a large block of ice and dehydrated orange.
Manila Kiss
Move over classic cosmo, the Manila Kiss is in town
Manila Kiss
Serves 1
Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking time 5 minutes
The classic cosmopolitan gets a makeover with this fruity, floral twist on a classic. Made using Don Papa Rum, dragon fruit syrup, lemon juice, and rose lemonade, this eye-catching cocktail tastes as good as it looks. It's best served in a hurricane or Belgian beer glass with a striped paper straw and a lemon wheel.
Ingredients
45ml Don Papa Rum
20ml Lemon juice
20ml Dragon fruit syrup
Rose lemonade
Method
For the dragonfruit syrup, take the meat off one dragonfruit and cut it into small pieces.
Combine with 250ml water and 200g of white sugar in a saucepan.
Bring to a light simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Strain through a cheesecloth and bottle. Keep chilled.
To assemble, gently layer the syrup in the glass with the other ingredients.
Coco Sour
The perfect antidote to the winter blues, this sweet and sour cocktail is about to become your new favourite concotion
Coco Sour
Serves 1
Preparation time 5
Cooking time 0 minutes
Coconut cocktails don't have to be overly sickly, and the coco sour is a perfect example of this. Pairing the rich notes of Don Papa Rum with tart grapefruit juice and tropical coconut syrup, this cocktail guarantees a fun night ahead.
Ingredients
60ml Don Papa Rum
15ml Grapefruit Juice
25ml Lemon Juice
10ml Coconut Syrup
10ml Pimento Dram
Method
Combine all the ingredients and ice in a cocktail shaker.
Shake hard for 10-15 seconds.
Double strain into a chilled Nick + Nora cocktail glass, and garnish with a mint spring and dehydrated lime wheel.
