You Should Be Adding Coconut Water Ice Cubes To Your Rum. Here's Why
Hard seltzer may be getting all the attention as we wind our way into summer 2021, but according to industry experts, The Spirit Business, there's a new-but-old drink in town that promises to give hard seltzer a run for its money. Just like hard seltzer, it can boast that it's made from sugar, as opposed to grain. It's called "rum." Perhaps you've heard of it? It comes in a bottle and is either clear or golden or darker (via Robs Rum). It's also at least 80 proof, depending on which variety and which brand you prefer, and that means if you're planning on sipping outdoors under the heat of the sun, you'd be wise not to try to tackle it straight-up. But wait. It's not that we are suggesting doing what is, arguably, the unthinkable by whipping it with pineapple juice into a thick and frosty piña colada or some other excessively-involved fruity tiki drink.
Rather, we've got it on good authority that there's a simple and refreshing rum cocktail that you should be making for yourself, and all you need for it, in addition to rum, is an ice cube made from coconut water. Here's why this "notta-colada" is going to be everything this summer.
It's not exactly the "lime in the coconut," which is probably a good thing
Halfway through summer 2020, Brigid Washington, a food writer from Trinidad and Tobago, wrote a sweet story for Epicurious addressing the role rum plays as a social lubricant in her country of origin and offering a quick how-to for a cocktail that blends to quintessential ingredients: rum and coconut. That how-to, essentially consisted of the following: Make ice cubes out of coconut water (preferably a large ice cube out of a large ice-cube mold). Then, pour rum over frozen cube or cubes (in a rocks glass, obviously), and enjoy.
Simple as the preparation may be, this as-yet-unnamed cocktail presents a delightfully complex drinking experience. "On first taste, there's the heady attack of the rum, with rich vanilla, tropical fruit, and spice ever-present," Washington wrote. Then, as the coconut ice slowly melts, the contents of your glass gradually come to taste increasingly of the coconut water's mild, nutty sweetness. And, of course, you can garnish with a lime wedge or a wedge of pineapple.