Classic cocktail · Guided recipe

Rum Runner

Fruit does the talking here, but the 30 ml of gold rum and 22 ml of raspberry liqueur are doing the work. Sweet, and stronger than the color lets on.

Preparation~3 minEasyStrengthLightabout 10% ABVMethodShaken10 guided stepsIngredients5Tall (highball) glass

Tropical

In the glassGold rum · Raspberry liqueur · Pineapple juice · Orange juice · Grenadine

See exact amounts

Make it with guidanceOne clear action at a time, with timers built in.

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What goes in

Ingredients

An empty clear highball glass with tall straight sides and a substantial base. — Serving glassHighball glass

Set up before you pour

Use a highball glass.

The tall, straight shape leaves room for plenty of ice and mixer while keeping a long drink lively.

Standard size: 350 ml11¾ oz
Ice & serve: Pack it generously with crushed ice.
If you don’t own one: Use a Collins glass or any tall, straight-sided tumbler.

Tools to set out

cocktail shaker
strainer (or a small sieve)
jigger or measuring spoon

Compare all glass types

Scale to your tall (highball) glassWe’ll remember this glass size.

Gold rum30 ml
Raspberry liqueur22 ml
Pineapple juice45 ml
Orange juice45 ml
Grenadine8 ml

Start making

From bottle to glass

Method

01
Measure into the shaker
Pour 30 ml gold rum into your shaker
- Gold rum
02
Measure into the shaker
Add 22 ml raspberry liqueur
- Raspberry liqueur
03
Measure into the shaker
Add 45 ml pineapple juice
- Pineapple juice
04
Measure into the shaker
Add 45 ml orange juice
- Orange juice
05
Measure into the shaker
Add 8 ml grenadine
- Grenadine
06
Ice the shaker
Fill the shaker with ice
Why it mattersFill it right up — more ice chills faster with less watering down.
07
Seal and shake
Seal and shake hard
Why it mattersCold hands mean it’s working. Shake until the tin frosts over.
08
Ice the glass
Fill your glass with fresh crushed ice
09
Strain cleanly
Strain into your glass
Why it mattersPour through the strainer so the spent shaker ice stays behind.
10
Finish the drink
Finish it — add a pineapple wedge and a cocktail cherry

Know your drink

About the Rum Runner

A Daiquiri, minty rum highball and dark rum rocks drink at a sunset terrace bar.

What grenadine should be

Grenadine is pomegranate syrup, not red coloring, and the difference shows up hardest in a drink like this where only 8 ml goes in. Real pomegranate brings tannin and a faint sourness that cuts the pineapple. The supermarket bottle brings sugar and dye. Warm equal weights of pomegranate juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves, add a splash of orange flower water, and it keeps for weeks cold.

Every version of the story puts the drink in the Florida Keys in the 1970s, in a bar working through a backlog of fruit liqueur. Take the specifics loosely. What the build itself tells you is more useful: this was made for volume, for crushed ice and for a blender, which is why it forgives sloppy measuring in a way most tiki drinks will not.

Common questions

Rum Runner FAQ

Mine came out cloying. What went wrong?

Probably the pineapple juice. Canned juice is much sweeter than fresh, and stacked with raspberry liqueur and grenadine you have three sweeteners in one glass. Cut the grenadine to a bar spoon, use unsweetened juice, and add 10 ml of lime, which the recipe badly wants.

Blackberry and banana liqueur instead of raspberry?

That is closer to how it usually gets made in Florida, where both go in. Raspberry gives cleaner, sharper fruit and spares you the artificial banana note. Use 15 ml of each if you want the traditional build, and skip the grenadine or the whole thing goes syrupy.

Can I put it through a blender?

It blends well, since the fruit gives enough body to hold a frozen texture. Use roughly 150 g of ice per drink and cut the juice by a third, because the melt brings its own dilution. Serve it at once. Frozen drinks collapse into warm juice inside ten minutes.

What rum should I buy for it?

A gold rum with some age on it, not a spiced one. Spiced rum plus raspberry liqueur plus grenadine is too many flavors chasing each other around. A Jamaican gold with a bit of funk gives the fruit something to argue with, which is what stops it tasting like a smoothie.

What ingredients are in a Rum Runner?

A classic Rum Runner calls for 30 ml (1 oz) Gold rum, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Raspberry liqueur, 45 ml (1.5 oz) Pineapple juice, 45 ml (1.5 oz) Orange juice, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Grenadine. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

How strong is a Rum Runner?

A standard Rum Runner is roughly 10% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it a relatively light, sessionable drink — similar in strength to a beer.

Is a Rum Runner shaken or stirred?

A Rum Runner is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.

Sharpen the technique