Spiced rum is the kind of spirit that always seems to be readily available and frequently finds a spot on your home bar cart but … you rarely know exactly what to do with it. When it comes to the rum world, spiced rum often seems to be left out of the overall discussion. Bartenders and home mixologists enjoy mixing with white rum and sipping dark rum. The spiced variety is just sort of left around for rum and Cokes.
First off, what is spiced rum? Well, it’s typically gold or dark rum that’s been spiced with vanilla, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, or other spices to enhance the barrel flavors. It’s sweet, spicy, and, we think, deserves way more credit than it gets. If you have a well-made, nuanced spiced rum, you can drink it neat or on the rocks like you would a long-aged dark rum or whiskey. You can also use it as a mixer in myriad cocktails from hot buttered rum to spiced mojitos to those classic rum and Cokes.
To find the best spiced rums in the game, we went to the professionals for help. We asked a few of our favorite bartenders to tell us their favorite “double duty” spiced rums to sip and mix with all year long.
Cotton & Reed Dry Spiced Rum
Vlad Novikov, general manager at Silver Lyanin Washington, DC
ABV: 35%
Average Price: $30
The Rum:
Cotton & Reed Dry Spiced Rum is great. The big reason: it doesn’t have a ton of added sugar and artificial flavors like most spiced rums. You won’t find that typical vanilla, sugary lead. They’re also local to DC. As a side note, their white rum won double gold in 2022 and 2023 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Tasting Notes:
It begins with aromas of citrus peels and spices. The palate is filled with notes of caramel apples, vanilla, and island spices. All with a dry, warming finish.
Bumbu Spiced Rum
Adrienne Balk, bartender at Parasol in St. Petersburg, Florida
ABV: 35%
Average Price: $39
The Rum:
Bumbu Rum is a great spiced rum. It’s a blend of sugarcane-based rums from various countries in the West Indies and South America. We use the rum to make a twist on a Pina Colada, which is a great fall sip.
Tasting Notes:
It has notes of banana bread, caramel, vanilla, and gentle spices. It’s sweet, fruity, and perfectly spiced.
Bacardi Spiced Rum
Federico Doldi, food and beverage director at Gansevoort Meatpacking in New York City
ABV: 35%
Average Price: $15
The Rum:
Bacardi Spiced Rum is always on top of my list. Blended with natural flavors and spices, each sip offers a bold, yet smooth taste. It’s great for mixing or as a value sipper.
Tasting Notes:
It has a caramel-like vanilla flavor with subtle notes of almond and dried, dark fruits rounded out by cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of honey, creating a balanced rum with a hint of smokiness.
Striped Pig Spiced Rum
Allen Lancaster, head bartender at The Bar at The Spectator Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina
ABV: 35%
Average Price: $30
The Rum:
Striped Pig Spiced Rum is my preference and admittedly a biased one as it is local to me. It’s distilled in Charleston, South Carolina. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s a flavorful, well-made spiced rum though.
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butterscotch notes make this a great mixer or sipper. It’s the perfect match for a brown butter wash. Add a few dashes of black walnut bitters and a little maple syrup and you get a delightful rum old fashioned that’s now featured on our fall menu.
The Kraken Black Spiced Rum
Clay Crocker, beverage director at Branja in Miami
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $17
The Rum:
In such a massively diverse category, it would be easy to go with some niche expensive artisanal name, but to be perfectly honest, I’m reaching for a bottle of Kraken more often than not. This 94-proof spiced rum delivers a bit more of a kick than a lot of its colleagues, and it’s exactly what I want when I am shaking up something with a ton of citrus in it. It might not have all the nuances of something from a smaller distillery, but it makes up for that in the sheer boldness of the flavors it delivers.
Tasting Notes:
When you’re making a tropical drink that has a ton of other ingredients clamoring for your tastebud’s attention, the ginger and vanilla from Kraken do not get lost in the mix.
The Original Sailor Jerry Spiced Caribbean Rum
Dennis Baby, head bartender at Kagi Maldives Resort & Spa in Maldives
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $20
The Rum:
The Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum is tough to beat. It is blended with the finest rums from the Caribbean. It’s readily available and a great base for your favorite rum-based cocktail.
Tasting Notes:
It offers a burn but ends on a nice, sweet note. It will go well with sparkling apple juice and can be used as for spritz cocktails.
Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum
Kevin Beary, beverage director at Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $28
The Rum:
Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum is the only spiced rum I will touch. I have seen the production process firsthand where rum is soaked in large vats with individual dried and fresh ingredients and then blended together without any artificial flavors or essential oils. I generally don’t endorse any other spiced rums as most are made from unaged distillate with synthetic flavorings.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of candied orange peels, cinnamon, and spices work their way into a palate of raisins, vanilla, toffee, oak, and spices.
Doctor Bird Jamaican Spiced Rum
Vincent Bolognini, head bartender at Due West in New York City
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $27
The Rum:
Dr. Bird is a classic Jamaican Spiced Rum. The first pot distilled in Jamaica, it blended and aged in former muscatel wine barrels at the distillery in Detroit.
Tasting Notes:
Its palate is loaded with ripe tropical fruits and a slightly funky and oaky finish from the muscatel barrels. I usually drink it over ice with tonic and a squeeze of lime.
Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy
Corey Hayes, general manager and beverage director at Gala & Muse Bar in Miami
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $30
The Rum:
It’s not technically a spiced rum, but Plantation 5 Year is the absolute best, price point you can’t beat for this Barbadian rum. The dried fruit notes mixed with banana fosters flavor making it an absolute killer for a classic daquiri or tiki-forward cocktails such as a Mai Tai. But, on the other hand, Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple is as close to a spiced rum as the brand makes. Pineapple, spices, what’s not to love?
Tasting Notes:
Infused with pineapple, this dark rum carries notes of vanilla, honey, ripe tropical fruit, and cloves. It’s just as great as a sipper as it is a mixer.
Cruzan Island Spiced Rum
Alex Barbatsis, bar director at The Whistler in Chicago
ABV: 35%
Average Price: $12
The Rum:
When it comes to spiced rum, I’ll usually reach for Sailor Jerry. It has warm vanilla notes and cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger flavors. But there are other great value spiced rums on the market and one of the best is Cruzan Island Spiced Rum.
Tasting Notes:
Flavored with cinnamon, vanilla, and star anise, this spiced rum is well-suited as a mixer for your favorite rum-based cocktails.
