The worldwide nature of this spirit made selecting the very best a challenge. We delved deep into the huge number of white, dark, and spiced rums to select the brands and bottles suitable for each and every occasion. After either of these methods have taken place, the rum is blended and bottled or left to age. Rums that are aged in the Caribbean require less time to reach their peak due to the tropical heat and accelerated evaporation. Some brands finish their aging process in Cognac or wine casks for a unique flavor profile. Terminology: The terms to know when talking about rum

Once considered little more than a party drink, the spirits world is having its moment and is now home to the best rums, in all styles. Founded in 1749, Appleton Estate has spent centuries perfecting its distilling methods. It produces some of the most exceptional spirits in the world from its home in Jamaica, in the Nassau Valley. The unusual terrain of its home creates a spirit unlike any other, perfected using a combination of unique weather, soil, and geographic demarcation. As a brand, Banks is all about exploration. From its name, which comes from the 18th-century explorer and botanist Sir Joseph Banks, to its offering, which combines more than 20 rums of different ages from Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, and Indonesia. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

Contrary to its name, Ron Zacapa 23 Year Centenario isn’t entirely aged for 23 years. It’s a bottle that combines rums aged for between six and 23 years. In the past, it won the award for “best rum in the world” for five years running. It’s a true work of art that’s wonderfully intricate, offering honeyed butterscotch and spiced fruit among many other subtle notes. As a result of its quality and dedication to perfection, Appleton Estate rum doesn’t come cheap. The brand’s 50-Year-Old offers an unparalleled tasting experience that’s believed to be the oldest rum in the world. The dense, dark amber color of the liquid promises quality and its nose reveals honey, molasses and soft spices. Facundo offers a range of luxurious, high-end sipping rums that stand tall above many other brands. It’s a brand that appeals to those who have a palate for extra-aged spirits that tell a story. Its success is continued through its rum production, with plenty of awards under its belt. Diplomatico Rum Reserva Exclusiva is one of the brand’s mid-range offerings, combining a reasonable price with a huge mouthful of flavor. The bottle alone has won more than 20 awards, making it one of the world’s most-awarded rums. This bottle is aged for up to 12 years and combines mostly sweet flavors like fruit cake, rum and raisin ice cream, cocoa, dried ginger, cinnamon, and clove. It’s a dark, golden rum that’s smooth and delicious.

No element of the process is rushed with the Facundo brand, from selecting only the highest quality sugarcane to perfecting the fermenting and distilling. Every offering comes complete with a distinct flavor profile, a bold blend of rums, and a guarantee of enjoyment. White, dark or spiced, there’s something for everyone when it comes to enjoying a good bottle of rum. It’s crisp on the nose with flavors of vanilla spices, dark chocolate, and tangy fruit. It has a long, citrus finish with more crisp, fruity notes. It’s an excellent mixing rum, perfect for a Daiquiri or a Mojito. The alternate method is to use the freshly fermented sugarcane juice, in a method called ‘rhum agricole’. These rums are commonly found on the French islands but are rare to find elsewhere. The sugarcane mixture is pressed to the point that all of the juice has been extracted before it’s fermented with water and yeast and then distilled.To produce rum, sugarcane is burnt, harvested, and milled for around 24 hours to keep it fresh and prevent deterioration. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Here’s everything you need to know when buying your next bottle, from the best budget Rum to the smoothest rum to drink neat and everything in between. The best rum brands of the year

Don Papa is a premium-aged, single-island rum from the Philippines, offering intricately detailed bottles with plenty of flavors to match. It’s a distillery that doesn’t shy away from revealing its character, with bold branding and high-quality ingredients. Privateer keeps things simple in the best way possible. The brand disregards many practices favored by larger companies, like sweetening, flavoring, filtering, and spicing its rum, for favor of keeping honesty and purity at the forefront of its offerings. Demerara: A term for rums that originate from Guyana. The name stems from the Demerara river, home to the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) facility, rather than the type of sugar.Rhum industriel: The traditional, more commonly-used method for producing and distilling rum. Made with molasses rather than sugar cane juice. Havana Club is a famous brand and it’s popular for a reason: it’s a great all-rounder that has spirits for every occasion. The Arechabala family started their rum-making business in 1878 and registered the Havana Club name in Cuba in 1934. It’s an authentic brand that takes the title of “most awarded Cuban rum” with 27 medals in the last few years. Unlike many other spirits that are limited to one geographic location, rum can be produced in many places across the world. It’s a spirit made from sugarcane and has been made and sold in countries ranging from Nicaragua to The Philippines, Barbados, and India. Sugarcane comes in plenty of different varieties and each type and the region it’s grown in plays a big role in the overall taste and aroma of the rum. Havana Club’s Primer Maestro Romero, Don José Navarro, describes the brand’s Añejo Blanco as “The whitest of all aged rums, the most aged of all white rums”. The Havana Club Añejo Blanco is distilled and aged in Puerto Rico for one year. Then, the aged rums are blended together and aged for another two months. Sip it neat or with one large ice cube to bring out other flavors of oak, vanilla, dried fruits, and a spicy touch of cinnamon and ginger. The long and smooth finish offers a hint of smoky marzipan. It’s an excellent all-rounder bottle for rum experts and novices alike, offering an adventure on the palate and plenty of complex aromas.

A household name, it’s hard to go wrong with a bottle of Diplomatico. The brand originates from Venezuela and is one of the biggest rum producers in the country.

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Rhum agricole: A term used for rum that’s distilled in the French Caribbean islands from freshly squeezed sugar cane juice rather than molasses. It’s rare to find this sort of rum produced elsewhere in the world. It firmly believes that this method of combining rums from different regions is a great way to offer a sophisticated and characterful rum and its bottles agree.