4 Fun Cocktails That Go Beyond Mojitos and Punch for National Rum Day

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously

2. Strain over fresh ice in a pint glass

3. Garnish with a lemon slice and celery stalk

A pretty-in-pink twist on a daquiri

If you've never seen dragon fruit before, picture a Dr. Seuss-style magenta-hued fruit and you'll have an idea of what this exotic ingredient looks like.

In season in Florida during the summer, dragon fruit can be found in the produce section of many mainstream grocery stores across the country as well as Latin and Asian markets (the fruit is native to Mexico and Central America).

It's the essential ingredient in this showstopper cocktail from the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa that lead mixologist Diana Jimenez says pairs well with a delicious rum thanks to its sweetness alongside the spice of jalapeño.

St. Germain liqueur adds a floral quality to the drink that rounds everything out.

"This is essentially a classic daiquiri with more of a sweet flair to it,” Jimenez says.

Rum Dragon

• 1/2 dragon fruit cut in chunks (set aside one piece for garnish)
• 2 ounces Bacardi Superior Rum
• 1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur
• 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 3 slices jalapeño (two for muddling, one for garnish)

Instructions:

1. Muddle together three chunks of dragon fruit (skin on for color) with two thin slices of jalapeño with seeds.

2. Add rum, St. Germain, lime juice, simple syrup and ice to a shaker and shake vigorously.

3. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with fresh dragon fruit slice and a jalapeño wheel.

Guava puree and lime pair for a fine sip

The traditional version of the El Floridita, also known as the Hemingway Daquiri, is named after a bar in Havana, Cuba. But this modern take comes from the Rumbar at The Ritz-Carlton Key-Biscayne in Miami, Florida, where you can sip it overlooking the deep blue hues of the Atlantic Ocean.

This El Floridita cocktail is served straight up as opposed to the crushed ice version and tastes just as transporting in your own backyard, thanks to the freshness of guava puree (find it the frozen fruit section of most grocery stores or Latin supermarkets), orange blossom water and lime juice.

El Floridita

• 1.5 ounces Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum
• 2 ounces guava puree
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• Dash of Angostura bitters
• Orange flower water (which you can find online or in some specialty stores)

Instructions:

1. Add rum, guava puree, lime juice and bitters to shaker with crushed ice and shake until well-chilled.

2. Spray orange flower water into chilled martini glass before straining ingredients into it.

3. Garnish with a dehydrated orange slice.