Rum, once seen as the unrefined tipple of salty sailors, is making a revival. Whether you take it neat, on the rocks or mixed in a cocktail, there are plenty of sexy, swashbuckling rums to pick from – ranging from light and crisp white rums (for the perfect mojito) right through to rich, dark and spicy numbers.
But where to start? Our roundup comes with a bounty of aromas and flavours to get your pirate-like paws on. And many are more affordable than you might think – so there’s no need to dig too deep into your treasure chest.
How to buy the best rum
What is rum?
Rum is loosely defined as any spirit made from sugar – either cane juice or molasses (a byproduct of sugar production). In practice, the vast majority is made from molasses, with golden and darker rums aged in oak to develop their unique characteristics. Most rum production happens in the Caribbean and Latin America, but it’s made right across the world – in Scotland, Thailand, USA, New Zealand, India and Mauritius, just to name a few.
Just as with whisky, the flavour can vary considerably, based on a wide range of factors – from the raw ingredients used to local methods of production and ageing. In Jamaica, for instance, pot stills produce typically produce golden and darker rums, while in Cuba columns are usually used to create a lighter spirit. There’s a huge range of prices too, from affordable bottles costing under 20 quid right up to exclusive rums that cost hundreds of pounds.
What types of rum are there?
For cocktails, Bacardi-style white rum is a favourite. It’s generally light and crisp, although it can be more pungent. It’s typically un-aged, although it can be aged and then charcoal filtered to remove the colour.
At the other end of the scale, dark rum is aged in oak, for big bold flavours and spicy notes. If it’s not left in for so long, it may be sold as golden rum – a slightly lighter recipe, but still with intense flavours.
Then there’s Navy rum, a dark tipple that’s typically a blend of light column still, pot still and heavier, sweet demerara rum. This tends to be very strong: back in the day, Royal Navy crews were issued a daily tot of rum with an alcohol content of at least 57% ABV, and that remains the benchmark. Finally, there’s spiced rum, which – as the name suggests – is made by adding various spices to a golden rum base.
How should you drink rum?
Generally speaking, the white and golden rums are best for cocktails – daiquiris, mojitos, dark and stormy, to name but a few. Darker, more aged bottles lend themselves more to sipping. Spiced rums, once dismissed by purists, are also gaining popularity: originally created to mask the taste of cheap grog, they’re increasingly used to add a kick to cocktails, or sipped neat.
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The best rums you can buy in 2018
1. Goslings Family Reserve Old Rum: Best mid-price sipping rum
Price:£48
Hailing from the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, each bottle of Goslings Family Reserve is hand-labelled, dipped in wax, numbered and encircled with a metal band before being placed in a straw-filled box reminiscent of the good old days. And the drink more than lives up to the presentation: this complex, dark golden sipping rum is rich and ever-so-slightly smoky, with buttery caramel and tobacco leading to an ultra-long finish – although not quite so long that you won’t be longing to pour yourself another glass. There’s a reason this rum took the hugely respected double Gold Medal at the 2005 San Francisco World Spirit Competition.
Key specs – Alcohol content: 40%; Bottle size: 70cl; Country of origin: Bermuda
2. Mount Gay Black Barrell: Best golden rum
Price:£30
Fancy basking in a Barbados sunset? It’s easy to visualise when you’re sipping this beauty, the latest (and most sophisticated, in our opinion) addition to the Mount Gay range of rums. It’s aged in heavily-charred bourbon barrels, which gives a toasty and creamy vanilla edge, so you get a wonderful warming hit of spice followed by a long slightly sweeter finish. It slips down beautifully when drunk neat – or, mix it with ginger beer and lime wedges for a great Blackstorm. It works well for a Manhattan too, with 50ml rum and 25ml dry Vermouth, along with orange bitters and peel.
Key specs – Alcohol content: 43%; Bottle size: 70cl; Country of origin: Barbados
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3. Havana Club 3 Year Old Rum: Best white rum
Price:£18
Mojitos and Daiquiris don’t get any better than this. Distilled from molasses and aged for three years in Cuba, this white rum is ultra-smooth and light, with hints of vanilla, smoked oak, almond, pears and banana. It’s by far the most popular rum in Havana city, and the largest brand of rum in Cuba, but its appeal is global: it was a gold-medal winner at the International Spirits Challenge last year, and can be found behind decent bars worldwide. Without a trace of the harshness of many other white rums, it knocks the socks off the more bland, mass-produced likes of Bacardi.
Key specs – Alcohol content: 40%; Bottle size: 70cl; Country of origin: Cuba
4. Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum: Best spiced rum
Price:£22
Spiced rums have historically been seen as the poor relation of the rum family, but lately they’ve been proving their worth. We love this hand-crafted, sweet and spicy blend that hails from tropical St Lucia. With an initial citrus kick that gives way to a warming hit of caramel, nutmeg and cinnamon, a mere sip will transport you to white sands and blue waters. It’s smooth, rich and distinctive, with none of the bitter alcohol tang or drowning-in-vanilla effect that can mar less sophisticated spiced rums.
Key specs – Alcohol content: 40%; Bottle size: 70cl; Country of origin: St Lucia
5. El Dorado 15-Years Special Reserve Rum: Best luxury sipping rum
Price:£70
This vibrant, full-bodied and complex flavoured sipping rum, from the banks of the Demerara river in Guyana, is something special. El Dorado - widely acknowledged as one of the best rum producers in the world - uses an ancient wooden still to produce this beauty, which boasts aromas of syrup, candied peel and cinnamon, with a taste that incorporates everything from dried fruits to honey and from gingerbread to oak, with a long lingering finish. It’s exceptionally smooth and well-balanced and a real showcase for the delectable, complex drink that rum can be. No wonder it collected the Wray & Nephew Trophy for Best Rum in the World at the International Wine & Spirits Challenge - for an unbeaten four years running.
Key specs – Alcohol content: 43%; Bottle size: 70cl; Country of origin: Guyana
6. Wood’s 100 Navy Rum: Best Navy-strength rum
Price:£22.50
If ever a rum had a seafaring swagger, it’s this one. At 57% ABV, it’s got serious punch, and it’s still made to the original Navy recipe from 1887, blending three different rums - one from a 250-year-old still (the only single wooden pot still in the world) - before being aged for three years in oak barrels in Scotland. It’s smoother and more mellow than other Navy rums, and the toffee and brown sugar flavours and hard-hitting spice lend themselves to drinking just as the sailors used to – straight down the hatch. Of course, you can also mix it: however you take it, it’s in a class of its own and packed with character.
Key specs – Alcohol content: 57%; Bottle size: 70cl; Country of origin: Guyana