Top 10 Rums for Making Mojitos

It’s only right to start with a proudly Cuban rum producer. Havana Club is a testament to the strict rules of mastery a Cuban distiller must follow to create top-quality rum. Their youngest Havana Club 3-year-old white rum is the flagship rum. It is a light rum aged three years and is zesty, fruity, and a bit spicy.

Named for the famous rum runner, Bill McCoy, who provided rum to thirsty New Yorkers during Prohibition, The Real McCoy rum company prides itself on being pure and authentic Barbadian rum. For a mojito, their 3-year-aged clear rum has an amazing flavor profile of coconut, caramel, toasted caramel, and marzipan.

Rhum Barbancourt is a Haitian rum company and Haiti’s oldest distillery, founded in 1862. The Barbancourt estate provides all the sugar cane for its rum, using fresh sugarcane juice instead of molasses. Rhum Barbancourt White has a spicy, intense note of fresh sugar cane and eucalyptus with a peppery finish.

Probitas Blended White Rum is the first blend of white rum from two separate distilleries in Jamaica and Barbados. It marks the first collaboration between competing distilleries. Probitas Blended White Rum is an homage to the post-prohibition era rums, characterized by their rich, complex flavor. This blend has a fruity nose with a palate of young sugarcane, coconut, lime peel, and spices.

Founded by the Nelthropp family on their Estate Diamond in St. Croix, Cruzan rum has been a fixture distillery since 1934. Their rum has a reputation for being among the smoothest. Their original aged light rum is a blend of rums aged in bourbon barrels for up to four years. Its smooth yet full-bodied flavor is the perfect foundation for any cocktail.

Cana Brava is a distillery out of Panama that uses copper stills and bourbon and oak barrels for aging. Their classic white rum is clear with a higher alcohol content than the competitor. The higher alcohol content makes for a harsher flavor, but you still get notes of vanilla. Cana Brava has a medicinal finish that works well with the sugar and mint in a mojito.

Banks 5 Island Rum is a high-end blend of more than 20 rums from Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad. Founder Joseph Banks draws inspiration from the distilling practices of each island to create a complex and highly flavorful white rum blend. The depth of complexity from so many rums sets this bottle far above its competitors in both quality and price.

Also known as Carta Blanca, Bacardi Superior is Bacardi’s signature white rum. Bacardi is one of the largest spirits companies in the world, originating as a rum producer in Cuba during the 1860s. Bacardi Superior is the go-to bottle for any bartender making a rum cocktail. It has a spicy bite with a palate of vanilla and almonds.

Flor de Cana is a Nicaraguan rum producer that prides itself on its carbon-neutral and fair-trade practices. Flor de Cana 4 recently won a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It has a unique dryness with a mild palate of candied fruit, vanilla, and orange.

Mount Gay Eclipse is one of the oldest rum producers, originating in 1703 and using the same well and sugar cane crop as they did nearly 320 years ago. They produce darker aged rums with more complex flavor profiles. The lightest Mount Gay Eclipse Heritage Blend is a crisp and light rum with earthy, burnt notes.