Jacob Richler raises his glass to the golden elixir on International Rum Day.

These days I meet many a pretentious tippler who loves to pontificate on the terroir of what’s swishing about in their glass, and how they connect with it. Me, I’m far less concerned with the nature of the soil where something took shape than I am by the temperature of the air above it.

Simply put when it’s cold out, and the rain and sleet or snow are pelting down, that’s single malt from nasty old Scotland that you’ll find in my hip flask. And when it’s gloriously hot, as it has been in this magnificent Canadian summer, my preferred spirit to sip straight from the glass is aged rum from the Caribbean – dark, silky smooth and syrupy.

There are three on my shelf right now that have each made singular contributions to my excellent summer:

Luscious El Dorado 15–year old from Guyana ($60.80 at LCBO)

Fruity and rich 8-year-old Special Reserve Barbancourt from Haiti (via Quebec SAQ, at $38.75)

Mount Gay Extra Old from Barbados ($41.95 at LCBO), which tastes or candied orange zest and molasses.Summer in a glass, every last one of them.

Don’t take our word for it –  for the perfect daiquiri recipe, click here.