How to Make Spiced Rum at Home in 5 Easy Steps

If your spice cabinet is overflowing and you're desperately looking for new recipes to use your some of your abundance of these pop-topped containers, check out this easy guide to show you how to make spiced rum from home. By throwing a variety of spices together with rum and letting them steep overnight to infuse the flavors, you'll make a brew that'll rival any big brand's recipe.

Notes for Making Homemade Spiced Rum

Since these recipes for homemade spiced rum require that you infuse the ingredients for about twenty-four hours, using fresh spices and fruits and grinding, slicing, or crushing them yourself will give you the most robust flavors in the end. In addition, you'll want to grab a sealable jar - a mason jar works well - to steep your batches in.

Homemade Spiced Rum

This deliciously potent spiced rum drink is laced with a hint of orange and ginger and boasts an assortment of traditional spices. Steep for twenty-four hours for a quick turnaround, or steep for a few weeks to get a really potent flavor. This batch yields about ten servings of spiced rum.

Ingredients

• 1 star anise
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves, whole
• 1 cardamom pod
• 2 whole nutmeg seeds
• 1 teaspoon ginger, sliced
• 2 orange peels
• 4 cups gold rum

Instructions

1. In a glass jar with an airtight seal, add the star anise, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and orange peel.
2. Pour the rum on top and seal the jar.
3. Seal the jar and steep the ingredients for up to one week on a windowsill, shaking periodically.
4. Strain the mixture after one week; strain twice if steeped in ground spices.
5. Pour the spiced concoction into a new sealable container and store in a cool place indefinitely.

Autumn Spiced Rum

For a spiced rum which goes incredibly well with apple bobbing, haystacks, and color-changing leaves, try out this autumn spiced rum recipe. This specific batch adds apple cider to the mixture for a sweeter taste and yields about six servings.

Ingredients

• 1 star anise
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves, whole
• 2 nutmeg seeds
• 1 ginger piece, sliced
• 1 cup apple cider
• 3 cups gold rum

Instructions

1. In a mason jar, combine the star anise, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Add apple cider and gold rum to the jar.
2. Cover the jar and let the flavors infuse together for twenty-four hours.
3. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a separate mason jar and cover.

Scorching Spiced Rum

If you like your dishes on the spicier side, try making this scorching spiced rum which adds spicier ingredients like cayenne, peppercorns, and allspice to the mixture. This batch yields about six servings.

Ingredients

• 1 piece fresh ginger, diced
• 1 point star anise
• 3 black peppercorns
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash nutmeg
• Dash allspice
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 2 cups dark rum

Instructions

1. In a mason jar, combine the ginger, star anise, black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, and cayenne. Fill the jar with rum.
2. Cover the jar and let the flavors infuse together for twenty-four hours.
3. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a separate mason jar and cover.

Spiced Coffee Rum

This sweet orange and coffee spiced rum, also known as the 44 Cordial, makes for the perfect after-dinner drink, whether it's served hot or chilled. While not a true cordial, the sugar in this blend lends an essence of liqueur that is equally versatile with summer drink recipes.

Ingredients

• 1 large navel orange
• 44 coffee beans
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 vanilla bean sticks
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cups gold rum

Instructions

1. Using a knife, make 44 holes in the orange; slit the holes big enough to fit a coffee bean inside. Stuff each hole with a coffee bean.
2. Sterilize a glass jar with a spout wide enough to fit an orange; add the rum, orange, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar into the jar. Seal the jar tightly and steep the concoction for 44 days in a cool location.
3. After 44 days, remove the orange and other large pieces.
4. Strain the mixture into a sealable bottle and chill.

Tropical Spiced Rum

Using equal parts gold rum and coconut rum, this tropical spiced rum recipe adds a sense of depth to your regular island cocktails. This batch makes about six servings of the unique recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 star anise
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves, whole
• 2 nutmeg seeds
• 1 teaspoon ginger, sliced
• 2 cups coconut rum
• 2 cups gold rum

Instructions

1. In a mason jar, combine the star anise, vanilla bean, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg seeds, and ginger. Fill the jar with both the coconut rum and gold rum.
2. Cover the jar and let the flavors infuse together for twenty-four hours.
3. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a separate mason jar and cover.

Spiced Rum for All Seasons

Given how easy it is to make a homemade batch of spiced rum, it honestly makes no sense to get store-bought bottles of the stuff ever again. By just popping in a few of your regular baking spices and some gold rum that you already have lying around, you can make yourself a glass of spiced rum that's perfectly personalized to your specific tastes. Try your homemade batch in some Captain Morgan drinks and see what you think.