Homemade Spiced Rum

Homemade Spiced Rum is the queen of all spiced rums because you can fine-tune the flavor yourself! It’s so easy to make and tastes way better and fresher than store-bought. This flavorful rum makes the perfect addition to any rum drink from a mojito to a Mai Tai. 

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About this Homemade Spiced Rum recipe

Some things just taste better homemade. Simple syrup, for example, is less fake-tasting. Margarita salt, for another, has a much fresher, zestier flavor. Call me old-fashioned, but those are just a few things my home bar can’t live without!

One more that I’m becoming increasingly obsessed with? Homemade spiced rum. My husband and I make a lot of cocktails at home. It’s cheaper than going out, plus we get to have a lot of fun experimenting with various syrups, shrubs and infusions.

You can make them for yourself to elevate your home bar, but it also makes a great gift for a cocktail lover.

We always try to have homemade spiced rum on hand because it’s versatile and elevates a drink. It’s so good in tiki cocktails like the classic Painkiller drink.

More homemade alcohol recipes: Baileys Irish Cream • Coffee Liqueur • Peppermint Vodka • Cape Velvet Cream liqueur

Why you’ll love this recipe

You are going to adore this infused liqueur recipe!

• Spiced rum is very easy to make yourself. Anyone can do it!
• You can flavor spiced rum to be as strong as you like.
• It’s delicious when used in cocktails and baking recipes.
• It will last a long time on your bar cart! (If you don’t use it all ASAP like we do.)

Ingredients

The beauty of making your own spiced rum is that you can really make it your own! And by that I mean, you can use your own blend of spices. Too much anise? Use less next time. Not enough cinnamon? Throw in another stick.

Here’s what I use, but we’ll talk about other options in a minute!

• rum: You need the clear, unflavored kind, AKA silver rum or white rum! A gold rum or dark rum will also work nicely if you prefer them. Any brand will do: Bacardi, Plantation, Cruzan and DonQ are all solid options.
• ginger root: Peel it and dice it first. This prevents grit from getting into your rum. It adds a kick of spice.
• star anise: You can use whole ones or break them into smaller pieces for less flavor. Anise is a licorice-like flavor, so if that doesn’t sound good, you can omit it.
• peppercorns: Just grab a few from your spice grinder! You don’t need a lot.
• cloves: I don’t recommend using ground spices here, as it will be very gritty. Use whole cloves.
• cinnamon sticks: Again, no ground cinnamon! You want whole cinnamon sticks.
• vanilla extract: I think extract is easier (and cheaper) than adding a whole vanilla bean, but that’s definitely an option — and it’s very delicious too. Slice it vertically down the middle and add it with all the seeds inside for the best flavor.

Best rum for Homemade Spiced Rum

When making spiced rum from scratch, you can choose any base rum you like. If you have a favorite brand, use that. Bacardi, Plantation, Cruzan and DonQ are all excellent choices.

• Light rum serves as a neutral canvas, ideal for customizing flavors with the spices of your choice.
• Dark, golden and black rums, on the other hand, gain their rich color and bold flavor from being aged in wooden or charred oak barrels before filtering and bottling.
• I would not recommend infusing a flavored rum, but everything else is fair game!

Spices for Spiced Rum

When you make your own spiced rum, you can really have fun with the additions each time you make it. For example, you could add citrus peel, use a vanilla bean or throw in other whole spices.

Each addition will change the flavor profile in the end result. Go crazy! Come up with your own ratio and combinations or use what you have on hand. Here are some ingredients you can add to make your own spiced rum:

• ginger root, diced
• candied ginger
• star anise, whole
• peppercorns, whole
• cloves, whole
• cinnamon sticks
• vanilla pods, halved
• vanilla extract
• allspice berries, whole
• cardamom pods, whole
• nutmeg, whole
• molasses
• orange peel (take off as little white pith as possible)
• lemon peel (take off as little white pith as possible)
• coconut flakes
• sugar

The best part? Because it’s homemade, so you can work on perfecting your DIY spiced rum every time! And impress all your friends once you nail it down.

How to make Spiced Rum

Making spiced rum sounds like it would be complicated, but it really isn’t! It’s the same method we use to make infused vodka.

Start by getting out a mason jar or bottle or whatever you have on hand. (I recommend glass over plastic, though, so you can keep tabs on what it looks like inside.) You can also get a bottle or a big handle of light rum and drop in a few whole spices. No need for a jar in that case!

Next place all the spices you are using into your jar. Then pour the rum into the jar of spices, filling as close to the top as you can.

Add the vanilla extract and stir everything together. Screw the lid on tightly and put it in a cool, dark place to rest for a few days. Take off the lid every day or two and smell it or taste it until it reaches your desired spice level.

After a couple of days, the color of the rum changes. It will turn a deep, golden, caramel color, just like the store-bought rums you know and love from the liquor store. (But again, it’s better — trust. me!) And the flavor? Even a pirate would love it. The longer you let the spices stay, the stronger it tastes.

You don’t even have to strain them out if you don’t mind it having a bit more flavor every time you use it or picking out the odd whole clove. But if you do want to, strain the rum through a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth or coffee filter to remove all the solids and any sediment.

If using a bottle with a narrow neck: To remove the contents, add water to the bottle and shake it upside-down over the sink. You may need to repeat this step a few times until all of the spices have been pushed out.

Storage tips

When infusing the rum, fill the jar as much as you can with rum, so that there is less surface area exposed to air. And be sure to screw the lid on tightly. This helps extend the life of your homemade creation.

Keep the infusion in a cool, dark place out of direct sunlight, but do check on it every day. Give it a smell test or taste test until it is just how you like it!

You can keep the spices in the jar indefinitely — the rum will continue to infuse. Feel free to strain them out, however.

Tips & tricks

Here are some tips and tricks for making your own homemade spiced rum:

• Don’t strain it and keep the spices in the rum for an even deeper flavor.
• Use whole spices, never ground ones, for the purest texture with little grit and sediment.
• If you love making it, share it with friends by making them an infused cocktail kit with your go-to spices. They just need to add their own rum!

Uses for spiced rum

Homemade spiced rum tastes great in all kinds of cocktails. If you like to bake or cook, know that you can also cook with spiced rum to get a lot of added flavor into your cooking.

Punch: I use spiced rum in this pear punch and this apple cider rum punch at the holidays. This citrusy spiced rum punch is another favorite in the summertime. You can also use it in a batch of rum gummy bears.

Tiki drinks: Lots of tiki drinks call for spiced rum! It’s great in a Zombie cocktail or a Mai Tai. We also love this tiki punch!

Classic cocktails: It’s also perfect in a mojito (we call it a dirty mojito, because the spiced rum will turn it brown! You can go even a simpler with a 2-ingredient drink like a simple rum & Coke. (Add lime and we call that a Cuba Libre!) The dark & stormy cocktail is another classic cocktail with tons of spiced flavor.

Holiday recipes: After summer is over, the spices are fitting for cozy season.Try it in an apple cider mojito, pumpkin eggnog or a white cranberry mule for wintertime cocktails. It works in baked recipes too, like these spiced rum balls that I love to make for the holidays!

Warm drinks: You can even mix it into hot chocolate in the winter or use it to make hot buttered rum, a holiday staple!

FAQ

More infused alcohol recipes

• Cinnamon Whiskey
• Vanilla Vodka
• Limoncello