Here's an idea to spice up a night at home: a rum tasting party. Enjoy new flavors and new drink recipes. Here's how to host a rum tasting party at home.

Everyone wants to raise their spirits. There's no better way of doing so than drinking spirits. 

Rum is a delicious and versatile spirit. You can mix rum into punches, or you can cook it into cakes. Rum is perfect for a late-night tasting party, yet many people have never done an at-home event. 

Get everything you need to know right here in this quick guide to an at-home rum tasting party. 

Get a Range of Rum

For a tasting party to work, you need a range of drinks. You want rums with different colors, scents, and bodies. 

Thankfully, you have a number of options. Our Blue Label rum has dried fruits and spices, making it perfect for cocktails. Our Gunpowder Proof rum has a full body with a long finish, ideal for a drink toward the end of the party. 

Whichever expressions you decide to try, buy your rums in advance and taste each of them. Decide which ones you like and what order you want to put them in. Buy enough for your guests and don't forget extra glassware if you're hosting a party.

Mix Your Rums

You can make several cocktails from rums. For example, daiquiris combine rum, lime juice, and sugar. The daiquiri is sweet and pungent with some people even comparing it to a slushy. 

Mojitos mix rum with sugar, lime juice, seltzer, and mint. The drink is sweet, light, and refreshing. To avoid damaging your mint leaves when you mix your drink, you can substitute simple syrup for sugar.

Rum punches integrate fruit juice. Most punches combine different juices together, especially tropical flavors like pineapple and orange. 

Serve one or two mixed beverages alongside servings of straight rum. If you or your guests don't like sweet beverages, opt for mojitos. 

Provide Food

Matching dishes to your rum will bring out their flavors. Consider the types of rum you have then pair foods with each of them. 

Daiquiris and mojitos work well with seafood. Raw fish dishes like shrimp cocktails and ceviche are best. Rum punches compliment heavier dishes like barbecued ribs and blackened chicken. 

Dark rum works for heavier dishes like burgers and steaks. You can serve it with desserts and cakes, especially ones with dried fruits. 

Hosting Your Tasting Party

Tasting parties are supposed to be intimate. Invite no more than 10 guests, and sit everyone around one table. You want people to have the opportunity to discuss each drink. 

Serve four to eight drinks, starting with light rums. You can prepare flights, in which you serve two or more drinks at the same time. Space the drinks out so people have time to eat, drink, and talk. 

Give a little presentation about the drink when it is served. Explain where it is from and what you are mixing with it. 

Look at the drink, then smell it. Take note of its color and how it sits in the glass. Then take a sip and swish it around your mouth.

The Best Rum for Your Party

Rum is perfect for a tasting party. You just have to know how to run one.

The key to a tasting party is options. Provide your guests with a range of rums, including mixed drinks. Pair your drinks with dishes that compliment the flavors of each one. 

Keep things intimate and light. Give your guests time to talk about their drinks. Involve all five of your senses, looking at the rum and feeling its textures in your mouth. 

The best parties have the best rums. Pusser's Rum has won dozens of international awards for our premium options and would make perfect tasters for your party.