The Hands-Down Best Rum to Drink Right Now
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For the past few years, we’ve been hearing that rum is about to have its breakout moment, as whiskey drinkers discover the joys of an alternative brown spirit and brands both new and old expand their portfolios. Rum brands have been waiting for their Pappy Rum Winkle, some limited-release, highly-allocated rum that will spawn a thousand dudes posting selfies on Instagram after waiting in line for 24 hours to score a bottle. Well, that hasn’t quite happened yet, but this might actually be a good thing. While there are some really expensive expressions out there on par with the most coveted bourbon or scotch releases, you can still get a quality bottle of rum aged for more than 20 years for less than $150 - something that would be considered a steal for a single malt or bourbon. Of course it should be noted that age doesn’t necessarily equal quality, but a carefully matured rum brings layers of flavor and complexity that can rival any whiskey.
Rum remains a favorite of expert bartenders and beverage directors who see a lot of potential in the category. “It's been exciting to see the trajectory [rum] is on over the last few years,” says Matthew Belanger, bar manager at Death & Co Los Angeles. “It seems like we are moving away from a branding- and marketing-centric model in favor of a more transparent model, much like in the world of mezcal, where new products are focused on highlighting terroir through single-producer bottles from specific regions.”
According to Javelle Taft, bar manager at Death & Co.’s East Village outpost, it’s important to remember the origins of rum when considering the spirit today, something that certain brands are actively striving to do. “Rum was birthed out of colonialism and slave labor,” he says. “Since the turn of the century, Caribbean island style rum producers are working hard to reset the tragic history of where rum is today, in comparison to how it started.”
Both Taft and Belanger acknowledge that many people consider rum to be a very sweet spirit– and there’s some truth to that as many brands are legally allowed to add sugar, and do so. But the ones that don’t make this very clear. “The new guard of terroir-driven rums are significantly less adulterated than their predecessors,” says Belanger. Taft says that one of the best things about the rum category is that it can’t be defined by one flavor profile. “I think in general, rum is in a creative state,” he says, which is why it can be used in so many different cocktails.
The bottom line is that there is a rum for everyone. If you are looking for something with zero additives, you are in luck. And if you prefer something sweeter to use for your Dark ‘n Stormy, there’s a rum for that, too. Here are 13 of the best rum brands, in all styles, to drink this summer.
Mount Gay
Barbados’s Mount Gay has been around in one form or another for about 300 years (Remy Cointreau has owned the distillery since 1989). Master blender Trudiann Branker is the first female to hold that title there, and she’s made a big impact on some of the core expressions. A few years back, the age range of the blend of rum in Black Barrel was increased from two to seven years to three to seven years, and the finish in heavily charred bourbon barrels was dramatically expanded from four weeks to six months, really amping up the flavors. For XO, the age range in the blend has been shifted from five to 17 years to eight to 15 years, and rum aged in cognac barrels is now included. This year, the sixth Master Blender Collection was released called The PX Sherry Cask Expression, a blend of column and pot still rums aged for at least 20 years in American whiskey barrels and then finished for a year in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks from Spain. This limited edition is pricey, but it’s well worth seeking out.
Shop From $26, reservebar.com
Ron Barcelo
This Dominican rum brand was founded in 1930, but has come a long way since then. The distillery is now a carbon-neutral operation that makes rum from sugarcane grown by local farms and plantations. There are many different expressions in the catalog to explore, from the Organic, to Gran Anejo which is aged up to six years, to the Imperial Porto Cask which is matured in tawny port barrels. The classic Imperial Premium Blend was released as a 40th anniversary special edition earlier this year, a blend of reserve rum aged in French and American oak toasted to different levels resulting in a wonderful sipping spirit. Save this bottle for a neat pour, because there are plenty of other Barcelo rums available that work well in cocktails.
Shop From $15, drizly.com
Appleton Estate
Appleton Estate master blender Joy Spence believes there should be two categories of rum: flavored rum (with sugar) and true rum (no sugar added). In Fred Minnick’s book Rum Curious, she is quoted as saying, “You want to add sugar? You can, but the two should be separated.” By law, Jamaican rum is not allowed to have sugar added, and the quality of Appleton Estate’s earthy rums show why it’s not needed. The 12- and 21-year-old expressions are excellent (and the latter is relatively affordable considering its age), and there are even older bottles to consider like the Ruby Anniversary Edition, a blend of five rums aged between 35 and 45 years in the tropical Jamaican climate. Also of note is the recent 17 Year Old Legend, a one-time release that is an attempt to recreate the J. Wray & Nephew rum used in the original Mai Tai in the 1940s. This is a seriously good sipping rum, if you can find a bottle.
Shop From $26, reservebar.com
Plantation Rum
Alexandre Gabriel, owner of Maison Ferrand, takes a cue from his native France for his Plantation Rum brand. Sugar is sometimes added to the rum, and Gabriel compares this to the dosage used in champagne production. The company is upfront about it (the website contains detailed information), which goes a long way in the industry. There are various bottlings sourced from countries around the Caribbean, most of which are aged for a secondary period of time in French cognac casks. There are so many bottles to explore from Plantation, including a range of single cask expressions and vintage releases sourced from countries like Fiji, Panama, and Peru. Recently, the “Under the Sea” Vintage Collection No. 2 was released, a collection of six vintages from different countries–Panama 2008, Jamaica 2007, Fiji 2009, Guyana 2007, Barbados 2013, and Venezuela 2010.
Shop From $21, drizly.com
Holmes Cay
Holmes Cay is focused on one thing–releasing the best single cask rum it can find, with no sugar or adulterants added. These bottles are often pretty high octane, with ABVs ranging from about 55 percent to a hefty 64 percent. But add a little water if that seems a bit intense, and the flavors really start to shine. Two new releases from the brand focus on unaged rums from Distillerie de Savanna of Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, part of a single origin collection. The first is Réunion Island Agricole Rum, made from fresh cane juice and bottled at 100 proof. The second is Réunion Island Grand Arôme Rum, made from molasses and bottled at nearly 120 proof. Peruse the rest of the collection to find expressions from Australia, Belize, and usual suspects Jamaica and Barbados. These are rums that you should take your time with, the way you might with a complex scotch whisky.
Shop From $50, caskers.com
Diplomático
Diplomático is produced in Venezuela from molasses and sugarcane honey, which the distillery describes as “the syrup left over after the first boiling of sugarcane,” with a higher sugar content than molasses. Reserva Exclusiva is a dependable spirit to have in your home bar, made in a variety of still types and aged for up to 12 years in oak casks. The higher-end Ambassador is also quite good, a rum aged for a minimum of 12 years in white oak before being finished for two years in PX sherry casks. The Single Vintage release highlights a specific year of production–the 2007 was aged for 12 years in bourbon, single malt, and American oak casks before being finished for a year in sherry butts. As permitted by Venezuelan law, there is some sugar added to the rum during aging, but the sweetness complements a palate full of banana, oak, and vanilla. The brand was acquired this year by drinks giant Brown-Forman (owner of Jack Daniel’s), so expect to see much more of it in the future.
Shop From $32, reservebar.com
Rhum JM
The rum produced on the island of Martinique is known as rhum agricole–instead of using molasses to make the spirit, sugarcane juice is fermented and distilled into something that is familiar but decidedly different. Try Rhum JM’s white rum to really experience how unique the spirit is, with grassy and earthy notes that complement this pleasantly dry unaged rhum. The brand takes its cues from cognac in terms of age designations, with VO, VSOP (aged three years), and XO expressions. There are also some excellent vintage releases to try, like the 2009 Chairman’s Reserve, a blend of pot and column still rum aged for at least 11 years. Even more recent is Terroir Volcanique, a blend of three-year-old rums aged in new American oak barrels toasted to custom levels that is meant to highlight the terroir where the rhum is made.
Shop From $43, drizly.com
Don Q
Bacardi may be the biggest distillery in Puerto Rico, but Destileria Serralles makes what might be the most popular rum as far as the locals are concerned–Don Q. This inexpensive rum is named after Don Quixote and has been around since the end of Prohibition. The brand has a slew of different expressions, including an añejo that is a blend of rum aged from three to ten years, a couple of single barrel releases, and an interesting Vermouth Cask Finish that spends four to six weeks in Italian oak vermouth barrels after aging in American oak for five to eight years. Two new cask-finished expressions were released last spring, rums that were given secondary maturation periods in port and zinfandel wine barrels. And if you’re more into flavored rum, this summer saw the arrival of Don Q Naranja which was aged for 18 months in oak barrels and then infused with orange flavor.
Shop From $17, reservebar.com
Brugal
Brugal is another Dominican rum, and its core 1888 expression is double aged in both bourbon and sherry casks (kind of like many single malt whiskies) to develop its flavors. The number 1888 refers to the year in which Adres Brugal founded the brand, and more than 130 years later it’s still going strong. There are some less expensive expressions to try like the Extra Viejo, and of course there are ultra-premium rums to sip as well. Andres Brugal, named after the founder, was a limited release of less than 500 bottles that blended together some of the distillery’s rarest reserves. And the brand-new Colección Visionaria was matured in a special cask seasoned by toasting Dominican cacao beans to add notes of spice and dark chocolate. This rum is slightly dry, full of chocolate and nutty notes, and is an all-around fantastic sipping spirit.
Shop From $12, drizly.com
Rolling Fork
The whiskey scene is full of independent bottlers and blenders, and this model has gained traction in the rum world as well. A company like the aforementioned Holmes Cay is one of them, and now Rolling Fork is offering some stiff competition. This Kentucky brand was actually founded in 2017, but has been getting more attention recently for its pricey but high quality Lost Cask Collection and Rolling Fork Series. The first release from the company was actually a blend of rum and rye whiskey called Fortuitous Union, but since then there have been some excellent single casks rums from various countries of origin.
Shop From $65, seelbachs.com
Flor de Caña
This Nicaraguan rum distillery has made sustainability a main focus, in addition to producing tasty rum that has no sugar or artificial ingredients added. There has been some confusion about what the numbers on the bottles mean over the years, but a representative for the brand confirmed that they do indicate the minimum age of the rum–in other words, that 12 on the bottle means every drop is at least 12 years old. The rum itself is quite good and not overly sweet (thanks to that lack of additional sugar), with big oak, vanilla, and tropical fruit notes. If you’ve got some cash to spend, try the high-end V Generaciones, a 30-year-old single barrel rum that holds up as a sipping spirit next to any whiskey you can think of.
Shop, From $34 drizly.com
Renegade Rum
The rum from this new Grenadian distillery might be some of the most interesting and challenging that you’ve ever tried. Renegade, founded by Waterford Whisky’s Mark Reynier, makes rum in the style of rhum agricole by using sugarcane juice instead of molasses. The distillery released several pre-cask expressions of unaged rums, each focused on the terroir of a specific farm that the cane was harvested from (some barrel-aged versions are on the way as well). Don’t expect the sweet, molasses, caramel flavors of your typical Caribbean rum–these are savory, spicy, citrusy, and completely unique, which will prove to be very satisfying to anyone who wants to really nerd out on the category.
Shop $69, astorwines.com
Ten to One
This is a newer brand that was founded by Caribbean native Marc Farrell, who wanted to create rum blends sourced from reputable distilleries that did not use sugar, color, or additives for flavor. Ten to One keeps it simple with two main expressions–a dark rum blend from Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, and the Dominican Republic; and a white rum sourced from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. There have been some special collaborations over the past few years as well, like a dark rum aged in Uncle Nearest bourbon barrels and last year’s 26-year-old Founder’s Reserve. These are excellent rums that you can enjoy in a cocktail or on their own.
Shop, From $36, flaviar.com
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