10 Top Shelf Bottles of Rum We Recommend

Master Distiller Joy Spence of Appleton Estate created the Appleton Estate 21-Year rum in 2012. It has a full, smooth, and well-rounded taste. It’s a blend of several rums that the company distills in small batches using copper pots. This rum is full of well-balanced notes of pepper, oak, and dark chocolate.

The Brugal 1888 rum comes from the Dominican Republic-based company, Brugal & Co. It’s a sipping rum with notes of toffee, vanilla, and red fruits intertwined with cocoa and natural oak spice. This smooth, perfectly balanced rum pairs well with Coke.

An independent rum brand in Venezuela makes this amber-red rum. Santa Teresa 1796 has a vanilla flavor with sich notes of butterscotch, molasses, and chocolate. This delicious rum tastes great on the rocks or with a splash of sparkling water like Perrier or San Pellegrino.

The St. Lucia Distillery distills Chairman’s Reserve The Forgotten Casks Rum. This rum has the sweet, decadent taste of sugary molasses and thick caramel with subtle hints of dark chocolate and roasted coffee. Chairman’s Reserve is delicious on the rocks or in an Old Fashioned.

Raisins, prunes, currants, bananas, and pineapple flavor along with some aged woody notes are what you’ll get when you taste this rum. Mount Gay XO Rum is a delicious compilation of carefully selected, mature rums made by Mount Gay Distilleries. This rum’s mildly spicy and floral flavor makes it perfect for bitter cocktails.

The Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Rum from the West Indies distillery in Barbados has a nice fruity and velvety taste. The notes of sugar cane sap, coconut shavings, and white chocolate make you think of a liquid Ferrero Raffaello Confetteria. The best way to drink this rum is to drink it neat, but you can also use it in creamy cocktails.

Industries Licoreras de Guatemala is to thank for this gorgeous, full-bodied rum. The Ron Zacapa 23 Rum is soft and sweet on the nose, tasting of dried fruit and apricot with notes of savory oak, nutmeg, leather, and tobacco. This rum is especially enjoyable in tart cocktails like sours, daiquiris, and Old Fashioneds.

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva is from Diplomatico’s distillery in the Andes Mountains in Venezuela. This rum features distilled molasses from copper pot stills. It later ages in small oak casks. The elegant, complex body of Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva is rich with notes of sugar cane honey.

Compania Licorera de Nicaragua is to thank for this beautiful amber rum. Flor de Cana 18-Year Rum has an exquisite aroma of nuts and caramel, tasting of intense vanilla and spices with a long and smooth finish. This rum is best served neat or on the rocks with an orange peel.

The Havana Club Anejo Clasico Rum is a Puerto Rican distilled rum from Bacardi. This rum tastes very sweet and heavy with vanilla, brown sugar, and subdued caramel. It finishes with molasses and raisins flavors combined with subtle hints of oak and char. You can drink this rum on the rocks, but it’s better mixed into tropical cocktails.