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12 Best Luxury Rums For Summer Cocktails
The white, dark and spiced rums to stock up on for the long, hot summer ahead
If you’re used to only sipping rum as part of a longer drink or cocktail....well, we can’t blame you. Frankly, that sounds delicious. That said, you’re missing out.
The simple pleasure of drinking a great rum is not something to be ignored. And with our guide to the best luxury rums, we’ve taken the guesswork out of finding those perfect to enjoy on their own or mixed.
Spanning white, unaged rum, dark and spiced varieties, our round-up of the best rums spans the globe, with liquids produced everywhere from Cuba to Mauritius, and not forgetting the UK.
What makes a good rum?
Rums vary greatly in taste depending on where they’re produced, how they’re produced, and how they’re aged, meaning there’s a lot to choose from.
Starting at the beginning, rum is most commonly made from fermented molasses – a thick dark syrup produced during sugar refinement. Less commonly, you’ll also find those made from pressed sugarcane juice, called rhum agricole, which produces a grassier, sometimes fruitier dram.
How it’s made will depend on the rum-making tradition of where it’s produced, with agricole originating from the French Caribbean, for example. However, with new brands, and new centres of rum production ever emerging, expect to see increasing amounts of experimentation.
Different fermentation lengths and distillation methods also produce different tasting, or light or heavy, liquids too. Pot or single column distillation produce ‘heavy’ style rums, which are full-bodied, dark and with pronounced treacle or molasses, and hail from nations such as Jamaica and Barbados. Light rums, usually produced on column stills, have a much more delicate, bright flavour profile, making them ideal for mixing.
What’s the difference between white, dark and spiced rums?
When it comes to styles, white rums are young, unaged rums and are ideal for crafting cocktails; we’re looking at you, daiquiri and mojitos. Dark rums get their complexity from resting in barrels for a number of years, with the type of barrel – such as former bourbon casks – helping add to their finished taste too.
However, it’s worth knowing that some producers add caramel or molasses before bottling to deepen the liquid colour and add flavour instantly. Look for age statements when you’re browsing to be sure a product has been properly matured in wood.
And finally, spiced or flavoured rums get much of their taste from those added ingredients, with common additions including ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves. Though from orange peel to salted toffee and pineapple, many producers are getting ever more creative. Look out especially for the new wave of ‘botanical’ rums, which use roots, herbs, barks, flowers and fruit to impart flavour.
How we test rum
Our panel of WSET-certified experts and consumers sipped each rum neat, then diluted it with water to soften the alcohol, take down the heat, and bring out the core flavours. They looked for bright, expansive and alluring aromas, a range of complex but balanced flavours, a satisfying mouthfeel, and a pleasing finish.
Step away from that mixer. This rum, from the tropics of Nicaragua, needs to be sipped to be fully appreciated. With notes of toffee apple, creamy vanilla, leather and dried raisins, it has the complexity to rival any whisky.
Our panel especially loved its long-lasting finish and silky-smooth mouthfeel. Need another reason to try it? The distillery itself has made a number of efforts to boost its eco-credentials, including the use of renewable energy, planting trees to offset emissions, and is now certified carbon neutral.
Famed Barbados distillery, Foursquare teamed up with Jamaica's Hampden Estate and Italian bottler, Velier to create this rather special rum.
Specifically, what you’re getting is an unaged blend of Foursquare’s Coffey column still rum, and a pot still rum from Hampden, both unfiltered, and bottled in Barbados. There’s a subtle smoky flavour, some grassy notes, pineapple, papaya and a satisfying sweet sugar cane hit.
Inspired by the Caribbean, but distilled, bottled and blended in Salford, this copper column distilled rum is infused with vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, maple, orange and Caribbean fruits.
In fact, its apple and raisin flavour notes even reminded some of our panel of a calvados. But there’s some fiery ginger here to keep things lively.
A Guatemalan rum oozing with sweet brown sugar and molasses, Ron Zacapa is as fruity and rich as a Christmas cake. Aged in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, it’s dark and sweet, with some satisfying nutty, woody complexity.
Look out for hints of stewed apples, pears, dried apricots and an almost creamy finish. Pair with anything chocolate; you’re welcome.
This storied Bajan rum has all the tropical notes you’ve been looking for. XO means extra old, and in this case the rums included in this blend have been aged for up to 17 years in American whisky, bourbon and cognac casks.
From a pineapple aroma, to a long coconut finish, and a little dried apple and apricot, there’s plenty of fruit to sink your teeth into, rounded out by pineapple, nutmeg, cinnamon, coffee, and of course, some caramel, browned butter, toffee and molasses. Moreish and mouthwatering.
This carbon neutral rum from Devon’s Two Drifters distillery has the environment at its heart. The distillery uses 100% renewable energy, electric vehicles, carbon neutral packaging and courier service, a closed loop chilling system, and more.
As for what’s in the bottle, there’s those signature grassy notes typical of an unaged rum, alongside banana, vanilla, pepper and something herbal. While the slight smoke on the finish adds an enjoyable complexity.
A truly Cuban rum, this smooth sipper is made using sugar cane molasses grown on the Isla del Cocodrilo, located just off the coast of central Cuba, blended with aguardiente and aged in former whisky casks for a minimum of seven years.
Leaning a little dry, there’s banana, salted caramel, brown sugar, dried fruit and spice. Look out for that long, smooth finish.
Looking like it escaped from a stockpile of pirates’ grog, Rumbullion’s spiced offering is as much a feast for the eyes. But what makes this stand out from other spiced rums, which can lean a little sweet, is its zesty orange peel backbone.
There’s cassia, cloves and a hint of cardamon, a little bitterness from the orange peel, and some aniseed, menthol and licorice notes, with a touch of smoke. With enough character to still stand out, it’s perfect in a cocktail.
The surprise discovery of old bottles of rum, holed up and hidden in the walls of the family’s Cornish farmhouse led to the creation of this white rum, made from Caribbean booze, blended with Cornish water. In fact, Cape Cornwall rum is now aged, mixed and bottled in the very room where the smuggled rum was once hidden to avoid taxes.
There’s tropical fruit and banana on the nose, as well as green pepper and citrus. With some smoke and brandy notes, and low heat, it makes a perfect sipper.
Ron La Progresiva Mezcla 13 Cuban Dark Rum
A blend of sipping rums, aged for an average of 13 years in Bourbon barrels, and made from sugarcane sourced from central Cuba, this one is notably and uniquely sweet. In fact, cane grown around Ciego de Ávila is known to produce rich, sweet molasses, and in turn, rich, sweet rums.
With toffee, pear and marshmallow on the nose, you’ll get ginger, molasses and dried fruit to sip. Yes, it’s intended to drink on its own. But if you want to experiment, try a rum-based Old Fashioned.
A truly global effort, this spiced tipple combines five rums from the Caribbean, Central America and South America, aged in former Bourbon casks and spiced with a secret blend, and interestingly, sweetened with salted toffee.
Can you taste it? There’s a confected sweet aroma, a smooth mouthfeel and notes of caramel, ginger and molasses, so, yes. Mix with ginger beer for something simple but special.
Named for the famed 18th century former slave, author and abolitionist, Olaudah Equiano, this blend of rums produced by Gray's distillery in Mauritius and Foursquare distillery in Barbados is described as the world’s first Afro-Caribbean rum.
If you like your rums light and bright, then this is for you. Light in body, there’s apple, pear, green grape and a little light brown sugar.
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