Canberra's Good Food Month 2015: The Rum Bar's cocktail degustation unlocks history

"Any day you're having five rum cocktails it's going to be a good time," reckons Lee Potter Cavanagh and that's what he'll be doing at a degustation dinner at The Rum Bar on the Kingston Foreshore on Tuesday.

Mr Potter Cavanagh, the Rum Bar's guest bartender for the event, will run diners through a history of the infamous drink, which he calls "the pirate of the spirits category".

"I'll talk about where rum's come from and how it's developed over the years. The drinks are reflective of how people have consumed rum through the ages," he said.

This begins with a traditional rum punch and moves on to include, among others, a daiquiri and a tropical pina colada.

The drinks will be paired with a four course menu put together by the Rum Bar's head chef Jodie Johnson, which includes a confit.

Mr Potter Cavanagh said that while many drinkers were still exploring whiskey, rum was gaining attention.

"Whiskey is definitely having its moment and with that is the resurgence of brown spirits and naturally rum and brandy are in that category too," he said.

"The thing I like about rum is that it really is the pirate of all spirit categories. you can get a rum from Australia next to a rum from Martinique next to a rum from Mexico and they're all different."

The dinner is part of Good Food Month, a series of dinners, lunches and events put on by restaurants across Canberra. It runs alongside the Enlighten Night Noodle Markets on the lawns between Questacon and the National Portrait Gallery.

Both events are run by Fairfax, publisher of The Canberra Times.

The Rum and Dine degustation dinner is on Tuesday, March 10, at The Rum Bar on the Kingston Foreshore. $120. Bookings 6162 1256. See canberra.goodfoodmonth.com.