Kirk & Sweeney XO Rum, 75 cl

So the legend goes, the Painkiller cocktail was invented in the 1970’s in the British Virgin Islands at a bar called Soggy Dollar Bar. It was originally made with Pusser’s Rum, a type of rum made using the British Royal Navy recipe. The drink was trademarked in the 1980’s so that if it’s included on a menu, it should include the traditional Pusser’s Rum. Of course if you’re making it at home, you can use any type of aged or dark rum - we won't tell anyone! Many rum cocktails use white rum or dark rum. But the Painkiller cocktail uses a whole other category of this liquor: aged rum or golden rum! Aging rum for a few years gives it a complex flavor. Golden rum can have notes of vanilla, coconut, almond, citrus, or caramel. The aged rum that we used here was Brugal Añejo Rum. Can’t find golden or aged rum or don’t have it on hand? You can substitute dark rum and the drink will work. You can also use white rum, but it’s not quite the same for this classic drink.