LA-Story.com: 12 Drinks of Christmas. Day #8 Creating Innovative Drinks with Cruzan Rum!

As we head straight into day 8 of the 12 drinks of Christmas, now's the time to be turning our heads back to Cruzan Rum. I have a slew of recipes for this premium rum that should really make your head snap when it comes to clean,crisp and flavorfull rum.

This is a rum that can be sipped in a beautiful Riedel glass or you can mix it into your favorite cocktail to create a truly unique drink that won't be like any you have had before.

Cruzan Classic Daiquiri
1.5 part Cruzan Estate Light Rum
.75 part lime juice
1 part simple syrup

Combine ingredients into a mixing glass and shake well with ice. Serve in a rocks glass, or strain to a cocktail glass. Possible to "float" a tsp/tablespoon of Black Strap on top of this cocktail.

Single N' Stormy
2 parts Single Barrel
4 parts Ginger Beer
Squeeze of lime -- FLOAT Black Strap on Top

Single Barrel Cruzan Rum

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Virgin Islands Rum Punch
2 part Cruzan Light
2 part Cruzan Dark
Dash bitters
.25 part Simple Syrup
.5 part Fresh Lemon Juice
1.5 part Orange Juice
1.5 part Grapefruit Juice

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Caribbean Champagne
.5 part Cruzan Light (optional)
.75 part Cruzan Banana
Top with chilled Champagne

Why Cruzan Rum? What makes this brand so special? It's the real care and precise dedication they put into making it.
The Cruzan portfolio consists of a light rum, several dark rums, a single barrel and ten flavored rums

Cruzan rum has been produced on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands since 1760

Cruzan is considered to be one of the "cleanest" rums on the market based on the brand's distinctive distillation process. Cruzan mixes high quality molasses with tropical rainwater, which, through fermentation, is turned into alcohol. The rum is aged in oak barrels in open-air warehouse, accelerating the aging process and bringing the spirit to full maturity sooner

Cruzan Mango Mojito
1 part Cruzan Light
.5 part Cruzan Mango Rum
4 chunks of fresh mango
.75part fresh lime juice
1 part simple syrup
4-6 mint leaves
Club soda

Muddle mint and mango chunks with simple syrup in a tall glass. Add lime juice, Cruzan Mango Rum, Cruzan Light and ice. Stir and top with club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Cruzan Mojito with a Twist
1 part any Cruzan flavor-- in this case, how about Cruzan Raspberry Rum..
1 part Cruzan Aged Light Rum
2 tsp. Sugar
3-4 Mint Leaves
Juice of Half Lime
Club Soda

Muddle sugar, mint, lime and a splash of club soda together in a tall glass. Add rums, stir, and fill with ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Cruzan Lemonade-- particularly nice for someone who doesn't want a heavy drink-- this can be made very simply.
1 part Cruzan Estate Light Rum
A splash of lime juice
Lemon/lime soda

Pour Cruzan Estate Light Rum over ice in a long drink glass. Fill with lemon/lime soda and squeeze a lime wedge over and drop in.

Cruzan Black Cherry Bay Breeze
1 part Cruzan Black Cherry
1 part Cruzan Pineapple
1 part Cruzan Coconut
Cranberry Juice
Pineapple Juice
FLOAT Black Strap on Top

Marinated Chicken
.5 cup Rum (light with any flavor could be fun to try-- but I chose Citrus for this recipe)
2 cups OJ
Zest of 2 oranges
2 tbsp chopped mint
.5 oz. curry powder
.5oz. chopped cilantro
.5 oz. minced garlic
.25 cup soy sauce
1 whole chicken, cut up

The sugary flavor of Cruzan flavors will create a nice glaze that will be great on the grill/BBQ. This can work as a nice marinade.

Rum Floats
Simply scoop up some vanilla ice cream and top it off with a float of your favorite Cruzan flavor. Try the Cruzan Cream Rum which is a new product and would be worth mixing with another flavored Cruzan rum (pineapple, mango and citrus are good choices) .

Stevie Wilson, LA-Story.com