If you’re a fan of spirits, you’re likely well aware that rum is made by fermenting and distilling sugarcane juice or sugarcane molasses. And, while you can bottle it right away and it makes for a flavorful mixer, we prefer it aged, preferably in charred oak barrels. This is when rum picks up more nuanced flavors like brown sugar, vanilla, oak, and caramel. And while there’s no doubt the appeal of dark spirits like bourbon, rye, single malt Scotch whisky, and even tequila is massive during the late winter and early spring months. We implore you to give dark rum a try as well.
“Most think of bourbon as a go-to early spring spirit, but rum is such an underrated choice,” says Erica Dimmig, lead mixologist at Pendry Hotel in Chicago.
There are myriad well-made, long-aged, memorable dark rums on the market just waiting to be sipped near or on the rocks or mixed into a dark ‘n’ stormy or one of the countless other delicious rum-based cocktails. To find these warming, complex dark rums, we went to the professionals who bide their time behind the bar for help. We asked a handful of well-known bartenders to tell us the best, most crave-able dark rums to drink this spring. Keep scrolling to see all of their picks!
Dakabend Anejo Oaxacan Rum
Nat Harry, USBG bartender in San Francisco
ABV: 49%
Average Price: $99
The Rum:
Dakabend Anejo Oaxacan Rum is an amazing pot still rum made in tiny batches and distilled in the Sierra Norte mountains of Mexico. This rum is funky and it will appeal to folks who love Smith & Cross and those sort of high fruit ester rums.
Tasting Notes:
Earthy with notes of dark brown sugar, campfire smoke, and overripe tropical fruit.
Bambú XO
Jorge Centeno, bartender at The Bar at Deerpath Inn in Lake Forest, Illinois
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $45
The Rum:
Bambú XO is a great Rum for wintertime, spicy and hot It will take you to the Caribbean on your first sip. Plus, it comes in a pretty cool bottle that you’ll want to hang on to after you’ve finished it.
Tasting Notes:
The baking spices, burnt sugar, sherry, and full body make Bambú XO a great sipper to keep you warm.
Brugal Anejo
Patrick Banko, lead bartender at Stratus Rooftop Lounge in Philadelphia
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $20
The Rum:
The dark rum that I have in my personal collection, and really enjoy sipping on, is Brugal Anejo. This product is not as known as the popular rum distilleries but competes at a high level.
Tasting Notes:
The nose test alone leaves you with strong notes of brown sugar and coffee bean. The flavor further accentuates the brown sugar but also includes buttery and warm spice notes. These flavors together create a very versatile dark rum that is delicious either by itself or as the base in some great cocktails.
Denizen Merchant’s Reserve 8 Year
Hakon Bream, restaurant and bar manager for Hotel San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo, California
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $35
The Rum:
Denizen Merchant’s Reserve 8 Year. Denizen Merchant’s Reserve is a unique blend of aged pot still rums from Jamaica and Rhum Grand Arome from Martinique, creating a well-rounded rum perfect for cocktails or sipping.
Tasting Notes:
Big aromatics and funky undertones create a fun and playful rum with a long finish and big flavors.
Foursquare Shibboleth
Jonathan Cano, lead bartender at Amaro in Paraiso in Miami
ABV: 56%
Average Price: $170
The Rum:
Foursquare Shibboleth is a current favorite, and honestly, the best spirit you’ll ever sip neat. A fine Barbados single-blended rum, number 16 of the Exceptional Cask Series, aged 16 years in ex-bourbon casks, bottled at 112 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Full of harmonious complexities, it’s a fruit bomb, but with underlying notes of oak. The finish is long and pleasant, much spicier than the nose. Each sip reveals more layers and flavors, as you warm up to the high-proof of the rum. Since I’m a Miami native, I can only imagine that this is the drink to savor on a cold spring night by the fireplace.
Plantation Xaymaca
Angel Horta Lupiac, lead bartender at Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel in Miami
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $28
The Rum:
Plantation Xaymaca is my go-to. This special dry rum is distilled in traditional pot stills before being aged in oak before being matured a second time in casks that formerly held cognac. The result is a highly flavorful, complex dark rum.
Tasting Notes:
It carries aromas of honey, cedar, mandarin orange, cooked pineapple, and brown sugar. The plush, slightly viscous palate echoes those flavors, layering on bright flickers of cedar and lemon peel, plus a hint of funk reminiscent of agricole rhum. It finishes with a warming clove tingle on the tip of the tongue.
Ron Zacapa 23
Donny Largotta, beverage director at Gansevoort Meatpacking in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $50
The Rum:
I’ve always had my own special recipe for pina coladas, but unfortunately, they are more of a summer drink. However, if you’re a fan of pina coladas, I always found my homemade coquito to be the perfect early spring substitute. Aside from using Coco Lopez coconut cream, and some spices, my secret ingredient was always a little Ron Zacapa 23. It’s the best aged dark rum in my opinion.
Tasting Notes:
I love the nose of caramel, nuts, and butterscotch mixed with the flavors of dried fruit, oak, tobacco, coffee, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon and ginger when you take a sip. Coquito is hands down the best cocktail to have at home for family gatherings during the early spring and oh my does it pack a punch.
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
Raul Ayala, lead bartender at Shelby’s Rooftop in San Francisco
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $38
The Rum:
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum is hands down of the most delicious rums out there with a beautiful harmony between sweet and dry.
Tasting Notes:
Savoring toasted coconut and vanilla with dark fruit and caramel. Goes well with tropical flavors and makes a mean early spring hot buttered rum cocktail.
Foursquare Exceptional Cask 2008
Melissa Chaney, bartender at Agua Caliente Casino in Cathedral City, California
ABV: 60%
Average Price: $99
The Rum:
Foursquare Rum by Richard Seales. This rum is aged in various wine, port, and whiskey barrels, and is smooth all by itself. It is very hard to find but worth the hunt. I recently enjoyed a 2008 that was aged in bourbon barrels. It was exquisite.
Tasting Notes:
As far as flavors, it has the best of whiskey, rum, and cognac all rolled into one great experience.
Hamilton’s 151
Abe Vucekovich, beverage director at Meadowlark Hospitality in Chicago
ABV: 75.5%
Average Price: $30
The Rum:
Ed Hamilton’s 151 is everything. Great on its own, or in a stirred or shaken rum drink. Surprisingly palatable for being 75.5% ABV.
Tasting Notes:
Cooked banana, demerara sugar, molasses, and brown butter on the palate. Holds up nicely in a hot buttered rum cocktail or any other cocktail as you head towards spring.
Smith & Cross
Erica Dimmig, lead mixologist at Pendry Hotel in Chicago
ABV: 57%
Average Price: $32
The Rum:
Smith & Cross is an ode to old-school rum and is expressive of its terroir with tropical and vegetal notes. It’s beautiful in a classic daiquiri or delicious paired with Fever Tree Distillers Cola.
Tasting Notes:
A palate of bananas, caramel, butterscotch, molasses, and light spices makes this a truly memorable rum you’ll want to have on hand all spring long.
Flor De Caña 7 Year
Roque Medina, executive director of Menlo Tavern at The Stanford Park Hotel in Menlo Park, California
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $25
The Rum:
Flor De Caña 7 Year slow aged. This sustainably-produced dark rum is sweet, mellow, and very complex. It’s a great rum because it’s just as good as a mixer as it is as a neat sipper.
Tasting Notes:
It is full-bodied with aromas of toasted coconuts, vanilla, and gigs, with a palate of honey, dark chocolate with a long smooth finish. It is gluten-free and kosher.
Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum
Linda Garcia, bartender at Tiki Chick in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $30
The Rum:
Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum from St. Lucia is great because it invokes so many warm spring flavors. The Chairman’s Original is steeped with “Bois Bandé,” a local Caribbean bark culturally known for its aphrodisiac qualities.
Tasting Notes:
It has notes of cinnamon, orange, clove, and nutmeg that just puts you in the spring spirit. Chairman’s Spiced can be used in so many types of hot drinks like cider, hot toddy, or just sipped neat. It’s also great for an early spring daiquiri.
Santa Teresa 1796
Richard Beltzer, head bartender at Monteverde in Chicago
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $50
The Rum:
Santa Teresa 1796, the rich dark flavors really assist with cocktails. The solera system in the barrel gives the rum longevity and complexity.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of vanilla, caramel, and dried fruits makes way for a palate of vanilla beans, chocolate, toffee, and light spices.
El Dorado 15
Jared Kelly, head bartender at Merchants Cigar Bar in New York City
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $48
The Rum:
El Dorado, a bartender’s secret, is an excellent option for easy and affordable rums. Specifically, El Dorado 15 might be my all-time favorite, under the $50 price point. Guyanese rum is king for me, and this one has a smooth and silky mouthfeel that matches up with its lightly roasted flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Touches of nuttiness, dry caramel, and dark chocolate play exceptionally well with the minerality of the limestone in the rivers they source their water from in Guyana. It’s my favorite sipper in front of the fireplace on a cold early spring night.
