Best premium rums to try

Everyone loves a rum cocktail, but there are so many other sugarcane spirits to try: read our guide to find out everything you need to know about rhum agricole, cachaça, clairin and more.

Best premium rum to buy 2023

Doorly's 14-Year-Old Rum

• Available from Master of Malt (£69.90), The Whisky Exchange (£72.50)

A stunning Barbados rum, rich and layered with notes of tropical and orange fruits, cinnamon, milk chocolate, vanilla and dried fruit.

Available from:
The Whisky Exchange (£72.50)
Master of Malt (£69.90)

Takamaka Pti Lakaz

• Available from Master of Malt (£47.49), The Whisky Exchange (£47.50)

A Seychelles rum, rounded with notes of apricot jam, soft oakiness, brown sugar and baking spice. Smooth to drink, with a long finish, it's one for sipping slowly.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£47.49)
The Whisky Exchange (£47.50)

Barra Distillers Island Dark Rum

• Available from Master of Malt (£35)

This rum is infused with carrageen seaweed native to the Hebridean island of Barra. It's subtly briny, with hints of orange, coconut and spice.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£35)

Equiano Light

• Available from Master of Malt (£32.95), Amathus Drinks (£33.80), The Whisky Exchange (£35.25)

A globe-spanning blend of rums from two distilleries (one in Barbados, the other in Mauritius), Equiano Light is the blonder, honey-coloured sister to the original Equiano aged rum. It’s made from both barrel-aged and un-aged rums, and mimics sugarcane juice in aroma and flavour. Expect light and creamy vanilla notes, reminiscent of crème anglaise, with a delicate spiced sweetness and plenty of vibrancy. There’s also citrus peel and subtle woodiness in there, too. Equiano grants 5% of company profits and £2 from every bottle sold to various freedom and equality projects worldwide.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£32.95)
Amathus Drinks (£33.80)
The Whisky Exchange (£35.25)

Étän

• Available from Étän Rum (£41)

Made by five sisters – Laura, Briget, Noella, Caroline and Kareen – in London, this elegant golden spiced rum is distilled with five botanicals commonly found in Cameroon (Étän means ‘five’ in their parents’ dialect, Mungaka) in West Africa – fevergrass, ginger, cassia, vanilla and orange peel. Dry on the palate, it’s replete with warming, gingery spice, citrus and vanilla notes that make it perfect for sipping, or try with ginger beer.

Available from:
Étän Rum (£41)

Two Drifters Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum

• Available from Master of Malt (£41.94), The Whisky Exchange (£41.95)

A vibrant spiced rum from carbon-negative Devon distillery, Two Drifters. It's got bags of aromatic flavour, with masses of fresh, tangy pineapple plus caramel, vanilla, baking spice and a candied hint of foam banana sweets. Despite the hefty ABV – 63% – it's smooth enough to sip neat, but would also work beautifully mixed with ginger beer or cola.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£41.94)
The Whisky Exchange (£41.95)

Five Rivers Indian Spiced Rum

• Available from Amazon (£40), Master of Malt (£34.24), The Whisky Exchange (£34.25)

Spiced rums tend to be on the sweet, syrupy side but this unusual white rum from India’s Sanghera Rum Company is a pleasingly modern, dry affair, with plenty of botanical oomph. Deeply aromatic, with notes of cardamom, coriander and cloves, and a peppery finish, the makers of this rum were inspired by English gin-making and it shows – it has an almost juniper-like character. Try mixing with tonic water.

Available from:
Amazon (£40)
Master of Malt (£34.24)
The Whisky Exchange (£34.25)

Hattiers Egremont Premium Reserve Rum

• Available from The Whisky Exchange (£39.25)

A marrying of aged rums from the Dominican Republic, Panama, Barbados and Guatemala, this fragrant spirit was blended in Devon by the first ever British B Corp rum brand. Smooth and accessible, with caramel and cooked fruit notes, sweetness and gentle baking spice. One to sip neat.

Available from:
The Whisky Exchange (£39.25)

Diablesse Clementine Spiced Rum

• Available from Amazon (£29.95), The Whisky Exchange (£30.75)

Made with single-origin demerara rum from Guyana, this aromatic spiced rum smells like a kitchen where you’ve been baking festive treats all day – expect vibrant candied citrus, gingerbread and cinnamon notes, and a well-balanced sweetness so you can sip without it all getting too sickly.

Available from:
Amazon (£29.95)
The Whisky Exchange (£30.75)

Burning Barn Smoked Rum

• Available from Master of Malt (£32.99), Amazon (£33.50)

If you could distil a bonfire into rum then this is what you'd get. Its bold, almost meaty smokiness hits the nose and palate first, but is followed by more mellow treacle and subtle chocolate hints. This would make a cracking old fashioned with Angostura or orange bitters and brown sugar syrup.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£32.99)
Amazon (£33.50)

Twin Fin Spiced Golden Rum

• Available from Tesco (£27), Amazon (£27)

The distillery behind award-winning Tarquin’s Gin have turned their attentions to rum – another Cornish favourite – with this new Spiced Golden Rum. The spirit is inspired by coastal life and is created using a secret recipe of spices which flavour a blend of Jamaican and Dominican Republic varieties. The addition of a little PX sherry and aging over charred oak chips give this rum a warm, complex finish, with notes of vanilla, caramel and nutmeg – like a Cornish sunset in a glass. This is a super-smooth, rounded rum so perfect for sipping straight-up.

Available from:
Tesco (£27)
Amazon (£27)

The Duppy Share Caribbean Rum

• Available from Amazon (£25.50), Master of Malt (£27.65)

Blending three-year-old, traditional-style Jamaican rum with five-year-old Barbadian rum, this has notes of oak and vanilla on the nose, and a smooth, almost buttery mouthfeel. Ideal in a punch.

Available from:
Amazon (£25.50)
Master of Malt (£27.65)

Equiano

• Available from The Whisky Exchange (£40.95), Master of Malt (£39.99)

Believed to be the world’s first Afro-Caribbean rum, Equiano is a blend from distilleries in Barbados and Mauritius, aged for a minimum of eight years and finished in ex-bourbon casks. Expect a sweet butterscotch flavour, as well as sultana and buttery vanilla notes. Look out for an orange peel aftertaste, too. Best enjoyed simply poured over ice.

Available from:
The Whisky Exchange (£40.95)
Master of Malt (£39.99)

Belgrove Hazelnut Rum

• Available from Waitrose (£31), Amazon (£32), Master of Malt (£29.99)

This single-origin demerara hazelnut rum from Guyana has masses of toasted nutty notes in aroma and flavour, as well as creamy vanilla and some subtle cocoa. Sweet but not cloying, it’s smooth enough to sip on its own or over ice, and would also work beautifully in an old fashioned.

Available from:
Waitrose (£31)
Amazon (£32)
Master of Malt (£29.99)

Cut Smoked Rum

• Available from Master of Malt (£27.99), Amazon (£26.99)

Made from a blend of Jamaican and Trinidadian spirits, the smokiness (from burnt wood chips) in this spirit doesn’t dominate the palate, mingling instead with beguiling notes of tobacco, coffee, oak, rich vanilla and brown sugar.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£27.99)
Amazon (£26.99)

Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva

• Available from The Whisky Exchange (£43.95), Master of Malt (£39.95)

A rich, opulent Venezuelan rum with dried fruit, vanilla and baking spice notes, and subtle cocoa tones on the palate. With a rounded, velvety texture, this is one to sip neat and savour – preferably in front of a roaring fire.

Available from:
The Whisky Exchange (£43.95)
Master of Malt (£39.95)

Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced Rum

• Available from Ocado (£25), Amazon (£19.95)

It was a night drinking Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva that led to the birth of Neythan Hayes and Chris McGuire’s rum and seafood bar in St Ives and, later, their own Cornish rum, Dead Man’s Fingers. They infuse Caribbean rum with spices and age it for three years. The result has notes of orange peel, saffron cake (a Cornish speciality), vanilla and nutmeg – best served over ice.

Available from:
Ocado (£25)
Amazon (£19.95)

Old Salt Rum

• Available from Master of Malt (£40), Harrods (£39)

One of the few rums produced entirely in the UK, Old Salt is triple-distilled and then aged in English oak for three years. The end result is an elegant affair – think subtle smoke (almost whisky-like) with hints of butterscotch, banoffee pie and a peppery edge.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£40)
Harrods (£39)

FAIR. Muscovado Rum

• Available from The Whisky Exchange (£47.25), Master of Malt (£47.24)

This unusual white rum from ethical drinks company FAIR. packs a punch, with fragrant herbaceous and menthol aromas, plus rich sugar (thanks to the rum’s high molasses content). Try in an aromatic daiquiri.

Available from:
The Whisky Exchange (£47.25)
Master of Malt (£47.24)

Vapoura Spiced Rum

• Available from Vapoura (£55)

This English spiced rum is macerated with ingredients like turmeric, black cardamom, vanilla, ginger and turmeric. It has a lively flavour profile, with spicy aromas and notes of orange-led citrus, ginger and butterscotch. Enjoy neat or mixed with cola.

Available from:
Vapoura (£55)

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