Barbados Cocktail

This rum cocktail is just a little boozy and just a little sweet, with fresh lime to keep it bright. Think of it as a little island escape.

The Wayland's Bermuda Black

If you drink a Dark 'n Stormy and think, "I'd like to turn this up a notch," this is the cocktail for you, courtesy of The Wayland in NYC. Fresh ginger juice adds heat, rum adds richness, and lime juice keeps it bright.

Mai Tai

The true Mai Tai is a vacation in a glass, bearing little resemblance to the sweet, murky rum drink you've likely tried before.

Rum Shrub

For the rum, choose something dark and, if you want to replicate the Colonial experience, something funky.

Test Pilot

This Don the Beachcomber classic was created around 1941. As Paul Clarke notes on his blog, Cocktail Chronicles, the key is the combination of Angostura bitters and Pernod.

Queen's Park Swizzle

Several months ago I spoke with Forbidden Island owner Martin Cate for an article I was writing about ice and cocktails (the article is in the September/October issue of Imbibe). While talking about swizzles--a classic style of Caribbean drink made with well-packed crushed ice, hence a slow-sipper of a drink--Martin recommended the ancestral swizzle, a true tropical drink that launched countless imitators, called the Queen's Park Swizzle.

Gramercy Tavern's Expat

Sometimes on a cold fall evening all you want to drink is a bright, sunny cocktail to remind of warmer days recently passed. This Gramercy Tavern creation draws inspiration from both the classic Hemingway Daiquiri and Audrey Saunders' Old Cuban. It's at once tart and refreshing with a touch of richness from the golden rum.

Daiquiri

Rum, lime, and sugar define the classic daiquiri; no garishly-colored slushies, please.

The Ancient Mariner

In Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, Ted Haigh shares this variation on Trader Vic's original Navy Grog.

Nacional

Riffing on the classic Hotel Nacional cocktail, which uses apricot brandy for a touch of fruity sweetness, Morgenthaler introduced Fee Brothers Peach Bitters to the mix--and it raises the refreshment bar while tossing in another layer of flavor complexity.