Rum Rita or Rumrita (cocktail)
A “Rum Rita” (or “Rumrita”) is a “Margarita” cocktail, with rum included instead of tequila. In 2000, there was a tequila shortage and restaurants were facing increasing costs for the Mexican drink. Ken Kessler, owner of the Manhattan Chili Company of New York City, developed a rum-based Margarita or “Rum Rita.”
Some insist that the “Rum Rita” (with rum, Cointreau, and lime juice) is not much different from the “Daiquiri” (rum and lime juice).
Wikipedia: Margarita
The Margarita is the most common of tequila-based cocktails, made with Triple Sec or other orange-flavored liqueurs, and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. Silver or blanco tequilas are preferred for margaritas, though some will use reposados or ‘gold’ tequilas.
In other languages, margarita is the Latin word for pearl; and Spanish for the daisy flower, which is also the name of a different cocktail.
Wikipedia: Daiquiri
Daiquiri (properly spelled with an acute accent on the final letter (“daiquirí”) and pronounced [daiki’ɾi] but commonly anglicized to [‘dækhəɹi] and written without the accent) is a family of cocktails whose main ingredients are rum and lime juice. There are several versions, but those that gained international fame are the ones made in the El Floridita bar in Havana, Cuba.
BarDrinks Drink Page
Rum Rita
Qty. Ingredients
2 oz. White Rum
1 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. Lime Juice
3 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Passion Fruit Juice
Glass type: No glass type has been given for this drink.
Directions: Blend with ice until smooth pour into a large glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Source: Scott Brecker
New York Times
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK UP CLOSE; Margaritas Slumming With Rum As Tequila Crisis Hits Happy Hour
By NINA SIEGAL
Published: August 27, 2000
Hold on to your salt. Your margarita is in danger.
(...)
’‘All of a sudden the price on tequila started going up and the supply of pouring tequila, or well tequila, began drying up,’’ said Ken Kessler, general manager of Manhattan Chili, which has two restaurants on Broadway.
Instead of increasing frozen margarita prices to about $10 from about $7, to keep up with rising costs, Mr. Kessler took a bold step. He experimented and developed the Rum Rita, a margarita sans tequila. With, you guessed it, rum.
Though the idea of a margarita with rum horrifies tequilaphiles, ‘‘the response has been very positive so far,’’ he said.
3 September 2000, Sunday Times (London, England), “Make mine a rum rita: Inside New York” by Tom Rhodes, pg. 27:
Desperate times require desperate measures. A global shortage of tequila has forced its price up so high that Manhattan barmen have been forced to devise alternative cocktails to satisfy New Yorkers’ insatiable thirst for margaritas.
To the horror of tequilaphiles, rum and whiskey ritas accompany the burritos and salsa at many of the city’s Mexican eateries. For purists, it is as bad as passing off mushy peas as guacamole.
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From: Fast Moving Ångel
Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2000 15:07:51 -0700
Local: Sun, Sep 3 2000 5:07 pm
Subject: Rum ‘Rita? Hmmmmm ....
I sorta thought a rum ‘rita was called a daiquiri. And haven’t they been around longer than margaritas?
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From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (PUSSSYKATT)
Date: 03 Sep 2000 11:49:47 GMT
Local: Sun, Sep 3 2000 6:49 am
Subject: O/T Worldwide shortage of tequila! Oh my!
NY POST….By BRADEN KEIL and CHRISTOPHER FRANCESCANI
——————————————————
New Yorkers are getting priced out of Margaritaville.
A combination of forces has sparked a worldwide tequila shortage that’s driving prices for the margarita’s key elixer through the roof.
The drought is rubbing salt in the wounds of shot-guzzling frat boys, frozen cocktail fans and anyone who’s ever lip-synched to Jimmy Buffett.
For bar owners and restaurateurs scrambling to stock their liquor shelves, tequila has become a prize for the persistent.
(...)
Manhattan Chili Co. owner Ken Kessler has taken a more radical approach to coping with the crisis.
“Until prices come down, which as far as I can tell isn’t going to happen for several years, we’re going to serve Rum Ritas - triple sec, lime juice and rum - instead of margaritas.”
A blasphemous concoction to a tequilaphile, to be sure, but all in the name of stayin’ alive, according to Kessler.
“It’s basically almost the same,” insisted Latisha Amos of The Bronx. Amos and Cynthia Bouldin told The Post that the only drink they like is the frozen margarita, so they really had “no choice” but to give the Rum Rita a try.
“After one, you can’t tell the difference,” Bouldin said.
New York Magazine
Rum Rita
Provided by Mixologist Jamie Mulholland
Served at Lotus
Servings: 1
Ingredients
2 2-inch cubes watermelon
1/2 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces Bacardi Límon
1 ounce triple sec
1/2 ounce Rose’s lime juice
1/2 ounce sour mix
Garnish
1/2 lime
Simple Syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water in a saucepan
Instructions
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add juice and rum, and top with chilled champagne. Garnish with a pineapple leaf.
Simple Syrup
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil for a few seconds. Set aside to cool.
(Published 2001)
Google Books
The Family Table:
Where Great Food, Friends, and Family Gather Together
by Christy Rost
Sterling, VA: Capital Books, Inc.
2004
Pg. 208:
Frozen Rum-Rita
Enjoy all the tropical fun and flavor of a frozen Margarita without the tequila. My journeys to the Caribbean have inspired me to pair rum with Cointreau for a deliciously refreshing island cocktail.
INGREDIENTS:
4 ounces amber rum
2 ounces Cointreau
2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar
2 cups ice cubes
2 tablespoons lime juice, for rims of glasses
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 slices lime, for garnish (...)
Cruzan Confusion
Saturday, August 20, 2005
(...)
It’s always fantastic, and their bartender Cheryl makes incredible rumritas.