Cream Puff: A Silky, Effervescent Rum Highball That Surprises

Cream Puff is the kind of cocktail that catches you off guard—in the best way. Light, smooth, and softly fizzy, it's a throwback-style drink with diner-dessert vibes and tropical soul.

Cream Puff Recipe Image

A Boozy Cream Soda Born in the Midcentury

The Cream Puff isn’t the most famous rum drink out there, but it’s a charming relic of mid-20th-century American mixology—an era when creamy highballs and soda fountain-style concoctions flirted with tiki trends and postwar experimentation.

With its mix of light rum, cream, sugar, and a splash of fizzy water, it feels like something you’d sip at a vintage hotel bar in Miami or Vegas—part soda jerk, part beach bum.

What You’ll Need

  • Light Rum – The base of the drink. Choose a clean, slightly grassy white rum to give backbone without overpowering the softer elements.
  • Light Cream – Adds richness and smooth texture. This isn’t heavy cream—think half-and-half or a lighter dairy touch.
  • Sugar – Just a touch for balance. You could sub simple syrup, but the granulated version helps preserve the retro vibe.
  • Carbonated Water – Brightens and stretches the drink into a highball. Go with club soda for neutral fizz.

Silky & Surprising: Why This Drink Works

Effervescent Velvet. That’s the best way to describe the Cream Puff. It starts like a soft cloud on the tongue—cool, creamy, lightly sweet—then lifts with a sparkle of carbonation and a hint of cane heat from the rum.

It’s not a dessert drink, per se. More like a spiked cream soda with tropical leanings. Balanced, breezy, and totally unexpected.

Variations & Substitutions

  • Swap the Spirit: Try aged rum for a caramel twist, or coconut rum for a tiki push. Vodka works too if you want neutral creaminess.
  • Go Dairy-Free: Use oat or coconut milk for a plant-based riff. Coconut cream makes it more indulgent.
  • Flavor It: Add a few drops of vanilla extract or a splash of orange liqueur to lean into the soda-fountain feel.
  • Boozy Float: Serve over ice cream instead of ice for a cocktail-float hybrid.

Expert Tips

  • Glassware: Highball or Collins glass is perfect to show off the bubbles.
  • Garnish: A dusting of nutmeg or a cherry on top leans into the vintage soda-shop vibe.
  • Chill Everything: Keep ingredients cold to avoid watering down the cream.
  • Pair It With: Light desserts like shortbread, vanilla pudding, or fresh pineapple slices.

Cream Puff Recipe

Type of Glass

Highball Glass

Ingredients

  • 2 oz.
  • 1 oz. Light Cream
  • 1/2 tsp.

Directions

  1. Shake all ingredients except carbonated water with ice and strain into a highball glass over ice.
  2. Top with carbonated water, stir, and serve. 

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