The world of brown spirits is full of excellent options with a wide array of different flavors to explore.
Generally speaking, pretty much every category — from whiskey to cognac to rum — features expressions that run the gamut from sweet to spicy to smokey. Within any single category, you can find bottles that will align with your preferred flavor profile, and that’s part of the beauty. And if you like the flavors present in bourbon, for example, why shouldn’t you be able to find comparable flavors in a category as vast as rum?
Of course, you’ll never know if you don’t try. And that’s what this list is for!
Each of the rums on this list should be particularly appealing to bourbon drinkers for one reason or another. Some of them are dark and sweet (news flash: not all rums are sweet!), while some of them are earthy, with rich barrel tones, and still others are vegetal and spicy. Depending on your preference, you may find yourself drawn to one or many of them, but with this guide, you’ll be armed with the information to determine exactly where you should begin your rum journey if you’re a bourbon-first type.
Sound good? Let’s go!
The Best Dark And Sweet Rums
3. Doorly’s 12-Year Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Doorlys-12.png?w=490)
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $30
The Rum:
Doorly’s 12-Year is a blend of rums that were separately aged for a dozen years in ex-Bourbon and ex-Madeira casks before being mingled together and bottled. Produced by Barbados’ Foursquare Distillery, it’s molasses-based and comes from both column and pot still distillate without any artificial sweeteners.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: On the nose, there’s black cherry syrup and raisins with a slightly ashen aspect to it that soon transitions into toasted coconut, vanilla pudding, nuttiness, and faint orange rind.
Palate: One sip and the viscous heaviness of this rum settles onto your palate as some chocolate truffle dust, banana, and citrus notes take shape. From there, you’ll notice some of the raisins and slightly ashen smokiness from the nose start to creep in before this introduces vanilla pudding and nougat qualities.
Finish: The finish is succinct here with banana peel, butterscotch, red wine, and oak closing the show.
Bottom Line:
Foursquare is one of the more respected rum producers on the planet and for this stellar blend they deliver an easy-sipper that is just as approachable as it is enjoyable. If this is your first foray into the world of rum, you definitely won’t be disappointed with Doorly’s 12-Year and should consider springing for Doorly’s 14-Year as well.
2. Appleton 12-Year Rare Casks
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Appleton-Rare-12.png?w=704)
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $40
The Rum:
Appleton Estate is a Jamaican distillery run by Master Blender Joy Spence. Founded in 1749, it is the oldest rum distillery in continuous operation in Jamaica. With a rum-producing history that few in the world can match, Appleton Estate is a leader in the industry, and its 12-year expression is one of the more recent additions to its storied lineup.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: For Appleton 12-Year’s nose, we begin with an abundance of vanilla extract, molasses, and butterscotch before the scent of cacao nibs and rich oak tones join the party.
Palate: Once in the mouth, Appleton 12 really sings with dark brown sugar, molasses, and honeyed croissant notes as the supple liquid coats your palate. There are notes of hazelnut, caramel, and gentle baking spices like black pepper hiding underneath as well once you engage with a second sip.
Finish: The finish is where the oak really takes off, and the butterscotch from the nose supplants the caramel found earlier in each sip. It’s medium-bodied with medium length, and overall, it works really well.
Bottom Line:
With its strong backbone of vanilla and oak, Appleton 12 features some delicious and familiar flavors that will put bourbon drinkers at ease, but the sweet molasses, dark cocoa, and hazelnut notes fit squarely in the box of dark, sweet, and delicious rum making it an excellent introduction to the category if this is your preferred flavor profile.
1. Hampden 8-Year Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Hampden-8.png?w=704)
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $72
The Rum:
Hampden’s flagship expression, this 8-year marvel, is made with methods that have remained unchanged since the 18th century. Featuring a high ester content, no artificial color of flavors, and made 100% of pot still distillate, this is almost as close as you can come to aged Hampden Estate rum in its purest form.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on Hampden’s 8-Year expression is soaring with figs and apples on top of the high-ester influence that Jamaican rums are famed for. There’s a touch of lavender, dense oak tones, molasses, and even a touch of grassiness to be found in the aroma notes. This is a pungent, funky rum, to be sure.
Palate: Once on the palate, Hampden 8-Year hits you with spiced red apples, cinnamon, molasses, and caramel all at once. If you aren’t braced for that high-ester pot still funk, it can catch you off guard, but it’s incredibly rich and delicious. Vanilla extract and dates can also be found as the medium-bodied liquid carries those well-developed flavors to every corner of your mouth.
Finish: The finish here is lengthy and full of more funkiness, with sage, ginger, clove, and barrel char joining the molasses and spiced red apple notes from earlier in each sip.
Bottom Line:
With its high ester content, Hampden Estate’s 8-Year flagship rum is a trial by fire when it comes to Jamaican rum in general which is well-regarded for this sort of funky pot still-driven style. That said, the flavors here should have a lot of appeal to bourbon fans who are used to proofy, complex pours with a dark and sweet backbone.
The Best Light And Refreshing Rums
3. Ten To One Uncle Nearest Cask Finished Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ten-To-One-Nearest.png?w=704)
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $65
The Rum:
Ten To One and Uncle Nearest are two of the more prominent black-owned brands in the spirits space. This collaboration sees Ten To One’s 8-year Caribbean rum, sourced from Barbados and Dominican column stills, Jamaican pot stills, and unspecified Trinidadian distillate, finished in Uncle Nearest 1856 barrels. Of note, the resultant liquid contains no additives or artificial coloring.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with overripe banana peels, a flaky pastry note, and an abundance of butterscotch that draws you in. The oak is certainly evident, but overall, this is a surprisingly light nose with some nuttiness accenting the banana notes and giving way to a touch of honey.
Palate: Once on the palate, there’s a streak of lemon zest to open things up before vanilla custard and amplified banana notes (likely a result of both the rum and the Tennessee whiskey) begin to steer the ship. The rum itself has a light texture and a spry mouthfeel, and the flavor of cooked pears and clove leads the charge toward the finish.
Finish: The finish has banana nut bread and more vanilla extract before leaving the palate fairly succinctly with a final kiss of nondescript red berries.
Bottom Line:
Thanks to its secondary maturation, this rum still has a stout oak backbone, but overall, it skews into those light and sweet notes like honey, nuts, and banana bread that bourbon fans are already familiar with. The use of Tennessee whiskey barrels to finish Ten To One’s dark rum blend works expertly here.
2. Rolling Fork Heart Of Gold
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rolling-Fork-Heart-of-Gold.png?w=704)
ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $30
The Rum:
Rolling Fork, based in Kentucky, sources both pot and column still rum from Jamaica and Barbados before crafting them in this small batch blend. With an emphasis on light cask notes, this rum is then bottled without chill filtration to preserve its integrity.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Lemongrass, vanilla extract, and dilute honey immediately appear on this fragrant nose with some grassy, floral notes.
Palate: On the palate, Rolling Fork’s Heart of Gold has a heaviness that contradicts the nosing notes’ lightness, but it works well to push the warm, cask-driven vanilla tones deeper into the tongue. There is a touch of white pepper and allspice, but overall, this rum is full of gentle, lightly sweet notes like honey, orange rind, and the faintly evident taste of bright red cherries.
Finish: The moderately lengthy finish is where this rum sees an uptick in the bright red cherry notes while the cask-driven vanilla tones slowly drown it out.
Bottom Line:
Rolling Fork is cranking out some truly outstanding sourced rums from regions as far-flung as Guyana, Fiji, and Venezuela, but their Bajan and Jamaican rums are the stars of the show in their single cask series, so it’s only natural to see a blend of them showcased for this approachable small batch blend. The results are a credit to both their selection of casks and their blending prowess.
1. Ron del Barrilito Three Stars
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ron-Del-Barrilito-3-Star.png?w=704)
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $48
The Rum:
Hailing from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, this column still, molasses-based Three Star expression features the brand’s original recipe from 1880. Aged for anywhere between 6-10 years in ex-Oloroso Sherry barrels, this 43% ABV Puerto Rican rum has no artificial flavors or coloring added. Of note, some of the distillate is macerated with fruits and spices for 6 months before being added back to the rest of the liquid, increasing its sugar content and making it sweeter.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toffee, cardamom, and cloves first come through on the nose for this rum. There’s a hint of brown sugar and tobacco, as well as some apricot and banana notes, molasses, and raisins.
Palate: On the palate, that delightful melange of baking spices from the nose shows up first, with tobacco leaf, cardamom, and clove fusing with the molasses and toffee notes. Despite those baking spices, it’s the influence of banana leaves that keeps this rum light and bright on the tongue.
Finish: On the finish is where you pick up some spiced pear notes and more apricot and banana as it lingers for a medium length before gently fading away.
Bottom Line:
Ron del Barrilito’s Three Star expression lives up to the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Having produced rum in this very style for nearly 150 years, their experience shows in this surefire offering.
The Best Vegetal And Earthy Rums
3. Renegade All-Island Cuvée Aura Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Renegade-Cane-Rum-Pre-Cask-Cuvee-Aura.png?w=704)
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $50
The Rum:
For their Cuvée Aura expression, Grenada’s Renegade Rum Distillery uses both pot still and column still distillate derived from cane juice across their many farms for an all-island unaged blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There are a lot of green, vegetal cane juice notes on the pungent nose of this one. Lemon zest, earthiness, cacao, and overripe papaya also stand out.
Palate: Overripe papaya and black pepper with sweet vegetal/earthy cane juice greet the palate on the first sip. There’s some allspice and sage to go along with a touch of banana peel. It begins leaning into the spice and turned-earth notes once the liquid hits the midpalate, and it’s really quite good despite being a bit imbalanced.
Finish: The finish is brief and crisp, and it closes with some lime zest and more of that vegetal, sweet cane juice from the tip of the tongue.
Bottom Line:
For drinkers who may be accustomed to white rum like Bacardi, this will offer a world of flavor hitherto unexplored. The fresh fruits here stand out, highlighting what an entire island’s worth of sugar cane can do when combined. This one is a winner.
2. Worthy Park Select Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Worthy-Park-Select.png?w=704)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $32
The Rum:
Worthy Park, founded in 1670, is the last remaining Single-Estate distillery on the island of Jamaica. For their flagship expression, 100% pot-distilled rums aged 4 to 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels are used in the blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The mellow influence of cinnamon, bananas, orange rind, and more tropical fruits like papaya with lime zest emerge on the nose. The nose takes on a slightly vegetal aspect with a few swirls; imagine black pepper and celery root juice.
Palate: Sweet molasses, stewed peaches, and semi-bitter chocolate all grace the palate at first before some lime zest and an herbal tea note begin to creep in. The mouthfeel is pretty austere, though that pairs well with the generally light flavor profile of the liquid itself.
Finish: The finish welcomes a fresh infusion of black pepper and herbal tea while fresh limes and papaya close things out curtly.
Bottom Line:
All told, Worthy Park Select isn’t the most expansive rum on the market, sticking to a narrow flavor wheel without a ton of depth, but it is eminently enjoyable. By utilizing a limited flavor spectrum that works well with its lean texture, this is a rum that you’ll enjoy several glasses of before realizing there isn’t much there…and yet you’re enjoying it all the same.
1. Rhum J.M. Terroir Volcanique
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rhum-JM-Terroir-Volcanique.png?w=704)
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $53
The Rum:
Terroir Volcanique is a rhum vieux agricole produced in Macouba, Martinique. This means it was matured for at least three years in oak and distilled from sugarcane juice. This particular expression was matured first in re-charred bourbon barrels before being transferred to char #4 ex-rum barrels for finishing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nosing notes open with clove, mocha, orange peels, bright red apples, and caramelized bananas. A touch of soot and smokiness also gently permeates the background.
Palate: Once tasted, Terroir Volcanique is surprisingly bright with lemon cookies, clove, banana peels, and dilute orange-peel water splashes across the palate. The mild smokiness is back, and it’s joined by a vegetal note like fresh spinach along with some store-bought caramel candy, which leads the way before the finish.
Finish: The finish has medium length, aided by the viscous mouthfeel, which coats your palate and keeps the citrus and smoky flavors hanging around.
Bottom Line:
Terroir Volcanique’s reasonable price point rewards you with a bounty of flavors unique to rhum agricole. It’s also wildly different thanks to a tempered use of ex-bourbon barrels and Rhum J.M.’s expert use of heavily charred casks. In short, this is a smoky yet sweet presentation of rhum agricole that will impress whiskey drinkers who don’t mind sipping rums with light top notes cast over an earthier backbone.
The Best Overproof Rums
3. Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Wray-Nephew-Overproof.png?w=704)
ABV: 63%
Average Price: $23
The Rum:
Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum is not only the most ubiquitous rum on the island of Jamaica, but it’s one of the more ubiquitous rums in the entire world. The rum is the product of both copper and pot stills and minimally proofed with Jamaican limestone-filtered water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this classic rum begins very grassy and floral, with lemon zest and fresh-cut grass leading the way before banana peels, lightly vegetal notes, and esters begin bubbling in. It’s very pleasant and has what I’d describe as a prototypical unaged Jamaican rum nose.
Palate: On the palate, despite its name, this rum isn’t deliberately proof-forward. Instead, it sends a flash of floral flavors and allspice over your tongue before the high heat hooks into the edges of your tongue and gently sizzles. There’s also some muddled tropical fruit like underripe bananas and some faint mango skin.
Finish: On the medium-length finish, you get more of the ethanol burn and some baking spice, where pepper and a bit of grassiness close things out.
Bottom Line:
While aged rums will definitely appeal to more bourbon drinkers, this Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum might surprise many people with its light and floral nose, which is a bit more reminiscent of white dog or moonshine than aged whiskey.
2. Rum Fire White Overproof Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rum-Fire.png?w=490)
ABV: 63%
Average Price: $27
The Rum:
Rum Fire is the garishly designed and greatly underappreciated white rum from Hampden Estate. Designed to showcase the boisterousness of 100% pot distillate, the molasses for this expression goes through an extended fermentation time to bring out all of the high-esters that make Hampden Estate’s rums so appreciated.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: While it may sound cliche to say, Rum Fire has one of the most tropical fruit-forward noses of any rum on the market. It’s resplendent with grilled pineapple and papaya puree, while the high ester content is also evident through a slight bit of refined funk
Palate: On the palate, there’s green apple, cane sugar, grilled pineapple, and even some bubblegum in spades while the slick mouthfeel coats the inside of the teeth. This is incredibly tasty juice that lives up to the expectations set by the nose.
Finish: The finish does have a bit of apricot and black pepper, but overall, the flavors from the palate follow through, with cane sugar and green apple continuing to power through. It has moderate length and closes out with gusto.
Bottom Line:
Rum Fire is not only one of the tastiest overproof rums on the market, but it’s also perhaps the best unaged rum out there too. Bourbon fans who go crazy for high-proof whiskey will find a lot to appreciate here despite its clear appearance, as this fruit-forward, funky rum is a real treat.
1. Mount Gay Black Barrel Cask Strength
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Mount-Gay-Black-Cask-Strength.png?w=704)
ABV: 66%
Average Price: $100
The Rum:
This Cask-Strength version of Mount Gay’s Black Barrel Rum is a distillery exclusive, meaning you’ll have to trek to Barbados to get a bottle. Bottled at 66% ABV, it is a blend of copper pot and column-still rums matured in American whiskey casks and finished in charred Bourbon casks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one is full of dates, cinnamon bark, dark chocolate, and rich toffee. While it does lean heavily into the dates, which can be deceiving, this is an incredibly bourbon-fan-friendly nose.
Palate: On the palate, this one packs a punch with cinnamon, dates, and dark chocolate, presenting themselves at first but also a touch of leather, burnt sugar, nutmeg, and allspice. The mouthfeel is heavy, but the texture isn’t particularly dense, allowing the flavors to strut their stuff without being encumbered by a thick oiliness.
Finish: The finish features an uptick of leather and black pepper as well as star anise, and it lingers for a lengthy amount of time after the final sip.
Bottom Line:
While it may be an island exclusive, meaning you’ll have to make the journey all the way out to Barbados to secure a bottle of this for your home bar, I can say with zero facetiousness that it’s well worth the trek. With all due respect to Mount Gay’s outsized number of awesome expressions, this can compete with the best of them and will certainly be a welcome addition to any bourbon enthusiast’s collection.
The Best Premium Rums
3. Mount Gay Single Estate Release 01
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Mount-Gay-Single-Estate-series-2.png?w=635)
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $420
The Rum:
For their most limited expression, Barbados’ famed Mount Gay Distillery uses 100% molasses made from sugarcane grown and harvested at their private estate in St. Lucy. Of note is that Mount Gay’s molasses has an exceptionally high sugar content, up to 72%, and they ferment it for nine days, which is double their typical fermentation time. The inaugural release comes from their 2016 and 2017 harvests, which are 100% pot-distilled and produced just over 4,000 bottles made from 70% recycled glass.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is resplendent with floral notes, pears, figs, nutmeg, and lemon zest. The lightly-sweet top notes beckon you in for deeper exploration, while the barrel-led black pepper aroma and sweet molasses will captivate you.
Palate: On the palate this rum continues the interplay of light and dark with lemon zest and gentle stone fruit flavors contrasting with the heaviness of the liquid on the palate and the robust backbone of earthy, faintly floral, molasses. The taste of grilled pineapples introduces a touch of smokiness to the palate, which melds well with some ripe banana, black pepper, and star anise.
Finish: The lengthy finish here ends the light/dark exchange, with the lightness winning out as the taste of citrus and salted caramel conclude each sip.
Bottom Line:
Mount Gay’s inaugural Single Estate Release is an absolute deep dive into the world of rum, illustrating the level of care about your craft that bourbon nuts geek out over. This release will not only appeal to the bourbon lover’s palate, but it’ll earn their admiration as a painstaking labor of love for distilled spirits.
2. Hampden Trelawny Endemic Bird Series: Becard Single Cask #299
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Hampden-Endemic-Bird-Becard-299.png?w=704)
ABV: 60.6%
Average Price: $365
The Rum:
In 2020, Hampden endeavored to produce a lineup of expressions that would highlight the variety of flavors their local conditions can produce in the cask, and the result was the Endemic Bird Series. Comprised of 26 single barrels (bourbon enthusiasts love single barrels), each of these offerings was bottled at cask strength from different vintages and three of Hampden’s eight marks: OWH 2012, LFCH 2011, and LROK 2010. This Becard Single Cask #299 is a 9-year-old rum matured in ex-bourbon barrels from the 2011 LFCH mark.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Bright red fruits like fresh strawberries and apples compliment a touch of peanut brittle, honey, and molasses for this expressive, sweet nose. The aromas are all well-developed and distinct, making it a treat to tease them all apart and savor them individually, even as they come together to create a whole more significant than the sum of its parts.
Palate: Notes of red apples, dried strawberries, honey, and caramel totally explode across the palate, detonating in a tightly wound flavor bomb. There are accenting notes of nutmeg, black pepper, leather, and molasses, and the mouthfeel is impressively robust. The high alcohol content is well integrated as this bold, flavorful rum coats the palate and packs a hefty punch courtesy of its undiluted nature.
Finish: The finish welcomes some extended pleasure courtesy of black cherry syrup and leather, allowing the ethanol fuse to slowly fizzle out as the flavor hangs around for a long time after you finish the last drop.
Bottom Line:
As bourbon lovers are keen to scream, single casks can often be the truest representation of a distillery’s maturation procedures, and so they will definitely delight in exploring this cask strength expression from Hampden. Despite being one of the relatively low ester per hectoliter marks in their range, this Becard single cask has all of the fruit and funkiness that Hampden is known for. With such an exquisite, ebullient nose and an equally full-bodied and lush palate to follow it, this is a rum capable of making any whiskey drinker an avid fan.
1. Appleton Estate Hearts Collection 1998
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Appleton-Hearts-98.png?w=704)
ABV: 63%
Average Price: $400
The Rum:
The Appleton Hearts Collection is a premium collaboration between Appleton’s Joy Spence and Luca Gargano. The latest release, the 1998 vintage, features a 19-cask blend of vintage rum aged for 25 years and distilled on a Forsyth pot still from molasses. With a limited run of just 2,700 bottles globally, be forewarned; this is a difficult expression to find in the wild.
Tasting Notes:
Nose:
Palate: What’s most striking across the palate is that this elegant rum combines a symphony of robust, intense flavors with measured deployment, making for a sipping experience that’s edge-of-your-seat fun and impressively balanced. The high ABV here only serves to amplify the flavors of candied ginger, toffee, and tropical fruit, which stand tallest among them, while rich orange, ripe bananas, black cherry, and roasted coffee beans hold them all up.
Finish: The finish is where cacao nibs, ripe bananas, and coffee beans join brown sugar and dense barrel notes to cling for dear life on your palate. Take a sip, then sit with it at length because those flavors aren’t going anywhere for a while.
Bottom Line:
With regard to complexity, depth of flavor, and finish, Appleton’s Hearts Collection should be seen as the pinnacle lineup for bourbon drinkers seeking a rum equivalent to the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. This outstanding 1998 vintage from the Appleton Hearts Collection is as impressive as any of Kentucky’s best whiskeys.
The Best Affordable Rums
3. Appleton Estate Signature Blend
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Appleton-Signature.png?w=704)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $20
The Rum:
While it doesn’t feature an age statement, Appleton Estate’s flagship rum is matured for five years. Intended primarily for mixing, this rum is distilled mainly on traditional pot stills with a double retort system and blended with a column still distillate before aging in American oak barrels.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There are muted notes of bananas, mangoes, and apricots here, and though they’re all fairly dialed back, they lead the way to molasses sweetness and a bit of white pepper, which will hold your interest before tipping the glass for a taste.
Palate: On the palate, this rum has a touch of funk up front that soon gives way to chunks of pineapple, ripe bananas, lemon zest, and blackstrap molasses. It begins a bit brash, with the alcohol prickling the tip of your tongue before the liquid thins out and sends a wave of straightforward flavor to the back of your teeth.
Finish: The finish of Appleton Estate Signature Blend is rather curt, but it ends with the light and sweet notes seizing control as bananas, apricots, and a touch of honey close things out.
Bottom Line:
Appleton Estate Signature Blend is a light and approachable rum that can perform capably as an easy-sipper but is best deployed as a versatile mixing rum that works even better in a Mai Tai.
2. El Dorado 12
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/El-Dorado-12.png?w=704)
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $37
The Rum:
Guyana’s El Dorado is made at the nation’s sole rum distillery, owned by Demerara Distillers Limited. Its 12-year-old offering is the entry point into its lineup of well-aged rums. This expression is produced on Enmore Coffey stills, Diamond Coffey stills, and their unique Port Mourant pot still.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The aroma of coffee grounds and cardamom opens the door for sweeter vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon notes. After sitting with the glass for a while, it comes across as artificially sweet, but notes like ground nutmeg and ginger keep the sweetness from becoming overbearing.
Palate: On the palate, the taste of cardamom, black tea, and caramel leads the way, while spices like cinnamon and ginger are only faintly apparent in the background. The liquid is surprisingly lithe and substantive enough to hold all those flavors without coming across as chewy or oily.
Finish: The moderate finish continues the push towards black tea and caramel, with the artificial sweetness edging out aged oak as the closing flavor.
Bottom Line:
As the stewards of Guyana’s rum distilling legacy, El Dorado does a fine job of furthering that reputation around the globe. While they have other bargains further down on their lineup, the El Dorado 12-Year hits the sweet spot of value and flavor as an introduction to Guyanese rum and the broader category.
1. Chairman’s Reserve Legacy Rum
![](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Charimans-Resreve-St-Lucia-Legacy.png?w=704)
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $48
The Rum:
Chairman’s Reserve Legacy Rum is one of the most substantial introductory bottles of rum on the market. This blend utilizes four different stills and combines sugar cane juice and molasses-based distillate for a mingling that is then matured in ex-bourbon casks for 5-6 years.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Faint leather and tobacco fuse with ripe bananas, a grassy top note, and dilute caramel to make up the nosing notes on this lovely rum.
Palate: On the palate, there are notes like coconuts, mango skin, and ginger to be found, along with more traditional bourbon notes like oak and caramel. The rum itself has an enjoyable albeit quotidian texture, but that restraint allows the flavors to stand on their own, unencumbered by a distracting oiliness or washed out by a thin mouthfeel.
Finish: The finish is medium length, allowing the coconut flavor to assert itself more forcefully as the caramel and ginger are joined by a touch of white pepper and nutmeg.
Bottom Line:
What makes this such an intriguing and ideal rum for those new to the category is that it combines many philosophies in one tasty, budget-friendly bottle. The flavors are both familiar to bourbon drinkers and distinctly rum-like, and it’s that marriage of styles that will win many potential rum enthusiasts over.