Rum has an enigmatic and sorrowful story to tell; it has been everywhere and seen it all, becoming a social and cultural staple and punctuating nights so memorable that they are forgotten by the morning.
Although rum was immensely popular in the 18th century United States and a cornerstone of the prohibition speakeasy culture - the spirit is most closely associated with the Caribbean and Latin America, with a vast majority of the world’s rum produced in these regions.
There is a rainbow of rums in the world so we best bust some jargon for you before we get down to business.
What are the different types of rum?
Without delving into subsets and proofs, rum is typically white, golden, dark or spiced. After rums are distilled and before they are blended, they are aged in oak casks and this is what determines its category, with the barrel giving the liquid its flavour and colour.
White rums, also known as silver rums, aren’t aged as long as dark rums and are therefore lighter in colour and flavour which makes them more suited to cocktail making.
Golden rums are aged a bit longer than their lighter cousins and typically have a more oaky flavour. Dark rums are usually aged between 3-12 years (sometimes longer), this enduring maturation provides a depth of flavour and smoothness which makes them more suited to being sipped over ice.
Spiced rums employ a mix of spices and are more often than not built on golden rums.
There is a medically inadvisable saying that goes, “drinking rum before midday doesn’t make you a drunk, it makes you a pirate”, some of the rums we are about to show you would have even Jack Sparrow rethinking his life if he tackled them before noon.
So sit back, get your eyepatch on and can of Ting at the ready because we’ve rounded up the best rums on the market.
Sunset Very Strong Rum
Overproof White | 84.5%
Ok, we get it. Your first thought is YIKES. This is not for the faint of heart, or health for that matter.
Whilst this rum is intimidating, it is worth summoning the courage for. The beauty of the Sunset Very Strong is in its unapologetic authenticity, the super high ABV is not a marketing gimmick but a local delicacy.
Very much a staple of life in St.Vincent, the locals enjoy it neat, with a coconut chaser or throw it in their cake mix. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the distillation is owed to the landscape, St.Vincent is a volcanic island and as such the tropical volcanic spring water that goes into this rum lends it an inimitable smoothness, freshness and verve you’d think impossible from a rum so strong.
Though locals enjoy it neat we’d suggest a chaser or using it as a base for a rum punch.
£42.95 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Foursquare 12yo Rum from That Boutique-y Rum Company
Aged Golden | 53.7%
Hailing from the famed Foursquare distillery in Barbados, Batch 1 of this Bajan buzzer was launched with a mere 521 precious bottles. There is a unique backdrop to this one — the outset is a distinct vanilla note, far from cloying or candied, it's more suggestive of a spiced cake.
Balanced against nutty and woodsy snippets, the real delivery comes from slow slipping where the palate can take its time to enjoy every subtle component of the bottle's 12 year lifespan. Drink it with a single chunky ice cube and exhale slowly when it reaches the back of the tongue — think Christmas morning on a white sandy beach.
Boutique-y bottles guarantee an impressive presentation too, the hand drawn illustrations are a cornerstone of the brand and loan a particular giftable element to their vast collection of loveable drams.
£64.95 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Neptune Rum
Golden | 40%
Neptune is a rum that comes with a lot of pedigree as not only is it produced by the oldest distillery in Barbados, it was also the most awarded rum of 2018 with over 40 awards to date.
Pure sugar cane molasses go through a complex process that sees it both smooth-pot and column stilled before maturing in American bourbon oak casks to afford the depth of flavour that has garnered such acclaim.
£34.95 | 31Dover | Buy it now *On sale now
Ableforth’s Rumbullion!
Spiced | 42.6%
Rumbullion! definitely looks the part - wrapped in brown paper then hand sealed with wax, the bottle has a seven seas authenticity, even featuring an illustration of a Navy grog tub on the front.
Way back when, rum was considered by Dr. James Lind to be the “best and quickest restorative a sailor can have at sea”. This blend of Caribbean rums features a host of warming spices and citrus behind a satisfying Madagascan vanilla overtone, like drinking a rum cake.
£34.90 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Bacardi Spiced
Spiced | 35%
Imagine James Dean cartwheeling into a knee slide across an oiled up dancefloor, at the end catching a falling glass centimetres from smashing, all whilst sipping a scotch on the rocks - that is how smooth this rum is.
Bacardi’s main production has been based out of their “Cathedral of Rum” in Puerto Rico since the family’s exile from Cuba in the 1960s, following Castro’s revolution.
This spiced rum boasts being artificial sweetener free, an all natural blend of rum, fruit and spices, it is indulgently sippable on its own over ice.
£22.95 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Havana Club Añejo 7 Años
Dark | 40%
Cuba may have ousted Bacardi but they still continued to produce industry defining rum. The Havana Club 7 year old is a benchmark in the story of rum.
Being a blend of a number of aged rums, the youngest 7 years aged, this expression has a complex layering of flavours that earned it the moniker “El Ron Fundacional” as it laid the foundations for a new standard of dark sipping rums.
With a portion of each batch returned to the barrel for further maturation and use in future production, each bottle bears the signature of the original vintage.
£25.45 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Wray & Nephew
Overproof White | 63%
Wray & Nephew overproof rum is all about its place in Caribbean culture. Integral to the social lives of those across Jamaica, this spirit is a blend of a number of rums from Wray and Nephew’s estates.
Colloquially abbreviated to just ‘Wray’, it is the drink of choice for many across the capital of a weekend, with the punchy molasses overtones providing a formidable base for an array of cocktails.
Enjoy Wray & Nephew properly at The Prince of Peckham’s weekly Saturday event ‘Culture’, their cocktail The Prince uses Wray & Nephew to create a South London take on a classic Jamaican rum punch.
£24.99 | The Bottle Club | Buy it now
Captain Bligh XO
Aged Golden | 40%
Tradition and folklore play a huge part in rum, with each bottle or distillery steeped in its own individual story often spanning generations, even centuries.
The Captain Bligh XO is no exception to this storytelling culture, the bottle is named after the ill-fated captain of the HMS Bounty, Captain William Bligh - victim of an infamous mutiny in 1789.
This rum is revered throughout the industry, twice named overall winner at the world rum awards and taking home gold in 2018. The distinctive nose and palette of this rum, full of vanilla and wood, owes a lot to the ageing in once-used Kentucky bourbon oak casks which afford a depth of character and an enduring, satisfying finish.
£33.34 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Tiki Lovers Pineapple Rum
Craft Flavoured | 45%
No spirit is immune to the craft revolution, with beer the first domino to fall, in turn gin and rum have followed suit.
This innovative boom in the beer and spirits industry has produced a myriad of weird and wonderful drinks that we should be grateful for, the Tiki Lovers Pineapple Rum is another name on that hangover inducing list.
This expression carefully blends a range of rums, from unaged pot-still Jamaican rums to three year old Bajans, before being infused with an all natural South-American pineapple extract - the result is a big, bold orgy of punchy flavours that mix smoothly with any tropical juice.
£27.99 | The Drink Supermarket | Buy it now
El Dorado 3 Year Old
White | 40%
Fast forward nearly 400 years or so after sugarcane was first introduced to Guyana and you'll find Demerara Distillers, producing the world famous El Dorado rum.
Such is the heritage of rum in Guyana, the Demerara Distillers are operating the last two original wooden pot stills in the world, each over 250 years old. This rum fits mojitos like a glove, the palate hosts typical white rum notes of tropical fruits but also introduces a whisper of white chocolate to give your cocktail that extra je ne sais quoi.
£22.96 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Gosling’s Black Seal 151 Proof Rum
Dark | 75.5%
Such is the importance of the rum industry to the region, Gosling’s Rums are Bermuda’s number one export.
In the early 1800s James Gosling, by chance, landed in Bermuda and began selling spirits, within 50 years a lot of experimenting had paid off and the Gosling family were selling rum straight from the barrel, eventually this “Old Rum” was put into champagne bottles reclaimed from British officers’ mess halls and sealed with black wax - in 2019 the Gosling Black Seal 151 is adored by rum lovers worldwide.
Gosling’s Black Seal is a mandatory ingredient of Bermuda’s national drink - the trademarked Dark ‘n Stormy, so it’s no surprise that the line is so popular.
The 151 Proof comes with much more of a kick and is used behind specialist bars and Caribbean bakeries, throw it together with some ginger beer and plenty of ice and it can make a deck chair in Skegness feel like a hammock in Bermuda.
£38.33 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
Dark | 40%
Diplomatico’s name holds a lot of weight in the rum industry. The DUSA distillery which produces the Diplomatico range is situated at the foot of the Andes mountains in Venezuela, this location is critical to the quality of the rum as this positions the plant in the heart of an oasis of fresh ingredients: from the spring water to the sugarcane, as well as the climate itself playing its part in aiding fermentation.
The Reserva Exclusiva is a decadent expression, dry and full of toffee, this rum is aged up to 12 years (making it incredibly smooth) and best enjoyed neat or on the rocks.
£36.95 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Dictador 12
Dark | 40%
Dictador has familial passion oozing from every drop. In 1913 the Parra family purchased a small distillery in Cartagena, Columbia, and over 100 years later Master Blender, Hernan Parra, is still keeping the family tradition alive.
With the local land producing bountiful crops of the highest quality sugar cane, the Parras have been blessed with the perfect environment for distilling their rum which has garnered deserved international acclaim.
The 12 year old rum has a pronounced medium body and is matured with precision through a solera system (a painstaking but rewarding fractional blending process) to achieve a rum that marries honey and spices with aplomb.
£39.83 | Master of Malt | Buy it now
Verdict:
Rum is vibrant, it is about making memories: laughing, dancing and living. Each shot over ice, each mojito and each rum punch embodies the hedonistic carnival spirit that characterises the Caribbean and South American countries that have gifted us with such a precious party serum.
For that reason we think you need to try the Sunset Very Strong Rum, it is something new (to us), it is the life of the party, it is exploding with culture, it is made with pride and love and it is damn delicious.
