Honey Rum Cocktails: 3 Honey-Sweetened Recipes

Make a small batch of honey syrup

Stir 30ml honey with 30ml warm water until fully combined. These are equal volumes, not equal weights. Let it cool before mixing a cold drink; all syrup measures below use this 1:1 mixture.

Keep it in a clean, sealed container in the fridge and make only a few days’ supply. Diluted honey does not keep like honey in the jar. Do not shake hot syrup in a sealed shaker.

1. Honey & Lemon Rum Sour

Shaken · Served straight up · Serves 1 · 3 minutes

A cold, honey-sweetened sour with fresh lemon. Unlike our sugar-syrup sour, this adaptation uses diluted honey for sweetness and leaves out egg white: no dry shake or foam layer is needed.

Ingredients

• 50ml Dilay 1949 Panjabi Spiced Rum
• 25ml fresh lemon juice
• 15ml cooled 1:1 honey syrup
• Ice cubes
• Lemon peel, to garnish

Method

1. Chill a coupe glass. Add the rum, lemon juice and cooled honey syrup to a shaker.
2. Fill with ice, seal and shake for 10–15 seconds until the shaker feels cold.
3. Strain into the chilled coupe without ice. Express the lemon peel over the glass, then add it as a garnish.

Mixing note: Use mild honey first so it does not dominate the lemon and spice. If your honey is particularly strong, start with 10ml syrup and adjust on your next drink.

For the sugar-syrup version with optional foam, see the existing spiced rum sour.

2. Honey & Ginger Rum Highball

Built · Served over ice · Serves 1 · 2 minutes

Ginger ale makes a lighter ginger-led drink than our ginger-beer serves. A small measure of honey syrup adds a floral note; it is an extra ingredient, not a honey-flavoured rum.

Ingredients

• 40ml Dilay 1949 Panjabi Spiced Rum
• 5–10ml cooled 1:1 honey syrup
• 120ml chilled ginger ale
• Ice cubes
• A thin slice of fresh ginger, to garnish

Method

1. Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the rum and 5ml honey syrup, then stir briefly to combine.
2. Pour in the chilled ginger ale. Stir gently once or twice to preserve the fizz.
3. Garnish with the ginger slice. Taste before adding up to another 5ml syrup: ginger ale is already sweet.

Mixing note: Do not shake fizzy ginger ale in a sealed shaker. Mix the rum and syrup first, then add the bubbles.

Prefer ginger beer without the added honey? Use our spiced rum and ginger beer recipe.

3. Apple, Tea & Honey Rum on Ice

Stirred · Served over ice · Serves 1 · 3 minutes with chilled tea ready

A chilled, single-serving tea drink with a little apple juice and honey. Unsweetened black tea gives it a different base from a citrus sour or fizzy highball, without repeating our warm, spiced apple batch recipe.

Ingredients

• 40ml Dilay 1949 Panjabi Spiced Rum
• 50ml brewed black tea, cooled and refrigerated
• 25ml apple juice
• 10ml cooled 1:1 honey syrup
• Ice cubes
• Thin apple slices, to garnish

Method

1. Brew black tea following the pack instructions, remove the tea bag or leaves, then cool and refrigerate it. Measure 50ml only once it is cold.
2. Add the chilled tea, apple juice, rum and honey syrup to a mixing glass. Stir until combined.
3. Fill a rocks glass with fresh ice and pour in the mixture. Stir briefly to chill and garnish with apple slices.

Mixing note: Use unsweetened tea and taste your apple juice first. For a less sweet drink, reduce the honey syrup to 5ml. Do not pour hot tea onto the finished cocktail.

Choosing rum and honey

Start with a mild honey and a rum whose flavour you enjoy. Dilay 1949 is a cardamom-led spiced rum with ginger, black pepper and gentle chilli warmth. The separately added syrup supplies sweetness; the rum’s spice supplies a different aromatic layer.

These measures and methods are our suggested adaptations of familiar cocktail formats, not claims of a comparative tasting. A pre-sweetened spirit, strongly flavoured honey or sweeter mixer will change the balance. Reduce the syrup first rather than assuming every bottle needs the same sweetness.

Prefer honey in a warm drink?

For honey and lemon in a warm mug, use our existing hot toddy recipe. Spiced Hot Toddy →

For a warm apple-and-honey batch serve, follow our existing mulled rum recipe. Mulled Spiced Rum →

For a broader festive selection, explore our Christmas rum cocktails.

Honey rum cocktail FAQs

Recipe references

The sour adapts the rum, lemon and honey format of Difford’s Honey Bee; the highball adapts the honey-and-ginger combination of Sweet and Stormy. The chilled apple-and-tea drink is our own suggested combination. Syrup preparation follows Difford’s honey syrup guidance.