Caleño Dark & Spicy (a no-alcohol rum alternative)

Caleño Dark & Spicy is a no-alcohol alternative to a dark and storm rum! Both vegan and gluten-free, this is from a Bristol brand that offers affordable alternatives to conventional drinks, inspired by the founder’s Columbian roots. It’s an exotic blend of pineapple, coconut, ginger, vanilla, kola nut and lime.

Just serve 50ml over ice with optional 15ml of fresh lime juice, then top with 200ml of ginger ale. Top with a lime garnish and optional pineapple leaves.

Avoid tonic water for some medical conditions (and pregnancy/nursing but hopefully you’re not drinking alcohol anyway). Check medication before consuming grapefruit or rhubarb. Keep citrus fruit garnishes away from pets.

Before recycling cans, rinse then pop ring-pulls over holes. Then step on cans to ‘pinch’ inner rims together, to avoid wildlife getting trapped. 

For a Tropical nojito, ‘smack’ 5 to 6 fresh mint leaves (to release their flavours) in a highball glass, then muddle with the wedges of 1 fresh lime. Pour over 50ml of Caleño Dark & Spicy and 15ml of sugar syrup (if you don’t want to make a batch, just add 15ml of agave nectar), then stir and top with soda water.

Garnish with a large mint sprig and a wedge of lime.

The founder has Columbian heritage, a country with the most biodiversity on earth (after Brazil). A third of the country is rainforest, where pink dolphins leap out of the water. Having said that, the locals won’t be drinking this spirit – their national drink is made from sugar cane, and very much not alcohol-free!