According to legend, the Rum Runner recipe was the child of necessity, created by “Tiki John” Ebert at the Holiday Isle Resort in the Florida Keys. Back in the early ’70s when it was created, the tiki bar allowed guests to pour their own drinks from the bar’s collection. Over time, certain ingredients went unused – so Ebert came up with a delicious recipe to make use of those odd ducks.
This original recipe is pretty high-octane, due to the healthy pour of overproof rum. The rum you choose should be flavorful despite its proof, so avoid the bottom-shelf fire-starter rums and look for something like Lemon Hart, Hamilton, Don Q, or Gosling’s. If you don’t have a tasty overproof rum, strong dark rum makes for a decent substitute.
Over the years, many versions of this recipe have cropped up in bars and recipe books and website, often with additional fruit juices to soften the blow. We’ve cobbled those recipes together into one ideal version and added it here as the Rum Runner Deluxe – so check that one out if you’re looking for something with a bit less bite to it!
