Toast the End of Summer with Premium Dark Rum

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Diageo. All opinions are 100% mine.

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's not every day that I write about cocktails, but this summer, we've been really getting into an occasional cocktail groove. If you're entertaining - and I know you are! - then be sure to look into serving something special to your late-summer guests. I recommend a cocktail made from Zacapa premium rum. The Zacapa story is amazing:

• Master distiller Ana Lorena Vasquez Ampie is only one of three female master distillers in the world.
• Zacapa rum uses first press sugar cane - called virgin sugar cane honey - while other rums use lowly molasses, a sugar-making byproduct.
• This rum is aged 2,300 meters above sea level in the Guatemalan highlands nicknamed The House Above the Clouds, and Zacapa uses a 500-year-old Spanish sherry-making process to distill and age their rum at the right pace and set of flavors.

So, back to cocktail time, everyone! The cocktail-loving folks of the Under the Influence blog are sharing some great premium dark rum recipes with readers: Improved Hawaiian Punch, The Old Virgin, A Real Daiquiri, and Amoxicillin (click the cocktail name to go to the blog's recipe page). I can attest to the merits of creating a signature or flagship drink for a summer brunch or dinner party, and building it around a solid, well-crafted starter ingredient like Zacapa. If you use quality ingredients to build your signature drink around, your guests will be able to taste the difference. I've often had parties where my signature cocktail is the first glass that is poured for guests as they arrive. Let them loosen up on one or two cocktails, then by all means shift into pre-dinner nibblies, cheese plates, and other beverages like sparkling water, beer, and wine. But start with a memorable opening - a welcome-to-my-party drink.

You'll become a true Zacapa believer, and I predict that you'll even want to join the Zacapa Society (click on the link to register your interest in this essential summer cocktail staple). Bottoms up!