The best rums to enjoy on National Rum Day:
Seeing as most of the joy of rum day will be in the drinking of it, Verdict has searched far and wide to find the best rums on the market at the moment. With everything ranging from classic tastes to newer products, here are the drinks you should be treating yourself to on National Rum Day.
All of our these have drinks have been personally tasted by Verdict staff so we know they’re of the highest quality. Without further ado, here are our tasting notes:
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Ableforth’s Rumbullion
Winner of the Best Spiced Rum at the 2017 Rum Awards, Ableforth’s Rumbullion is a real treat to be sure. For starters, its a handsome looking bottle, all wrapped up in brown paper with a old fashioned wax seal. But the insides are just as tasty. Rumbullion is a spicy, warming rum flavoured with vanilla and orange peel.
The nose is incredibly strong and complex. You’ll be able to pick up hints of vanilla and cardamom which remind one of a luxury cola, however, cloves give the scent a deeper, richer texture. The taste is spicy and heavy, coating the mouth with a flavour evocative of toffee, chocolate, or honey. Rumbullion seems to tingle on the tongue with a spicy tang that’ll help you through as winter approaches.
Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
The rum brand featured in our video about rum cocktails, this one is a bit of a marmite rum. Diplomático Exclusiva is a very sweet rum. It’s nose is very traditional and rich, but the taste is incredibly sugary. It’s a very sweet rum and smooth to drink too. For rum beginners, this is a good place to start, but for those who insist that rum should have a ‘burnt sugar’ you may come away feeling disappointed.
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By GlobalDataThe perfect choice for purists, this is one of the most awarded rums in the world. If you’re not such a rum purists, Reserva Exclusiva blends well in many cocktails, both classic and contemporary. Check out our video on the first page to see some of the many ways you can use Diplomático rum.
Bacardi Carta Blanca
The history of Bacardi really is the history of rum itself. No other rum producer has quite the same history or pedigree as Bacardi who went on to set up a world-changing drinks business off the back of its success with rum.
The first of the two Bacardi rums we tried, Carta Blanca is, as you might expect, a white rum. It’s probably one of the most famous of its kind out there. Chances are, if you’ve ever had a rum cocktail, Carta Blanca was used in it. Still, despite being basic in some regard, Carta Blanca is the quintessential rum experience. The nose is light and slightly peppery, a little closer to vodka than dark rum. The taste hints at tropical fruits but is ultimately tangy and hard with the classic burnt sugar taste of rum. The finish is medium with vanilla and other tropical spices.
Bacardi Cuatro
A newer, premium dark rum which takes drinkers right back to Bacardi’s roots. The recipe for this drink is based on Bacardi founder Don Facundo’s original recipe. This one is a blended rum which has its edges rounded out by a fewer older rums that it shares the bottle with.
The taste is absolutely classic and quintessential with notes of honey and vanilla. The spicy flavours that come with rum which has been aged in an oak barrel are also present here. For those who are reasonably new to rum but want a good quality product that will effectively introduce them to the drink, this is perfect.
Koko Kanu Rum
For those looking to feel whisked away to a tropical beach, this is the rum for you. Koko Kanu is a modern brand of white rum infused with coconut.
The first scent you’ll get as soon as you open the bottle is coconut. It’s softly overpowering in the way that only coconut can be. For those who enjoy a Malibu and Coca Cola, Koko Kanu is a slightly more up-market take on a similar concept. It’s a bit softer and easier to drink than Malibu and slightly more flavoursome too. It works great with pineapple juice or on its own over ice with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Longflint Ginger & Rum Fuego
For those who enjoy the taste of rum but fancy something a bit lighter, this is perfect for you. Longflint are a reasonably new brand of luxury premixed cocktails. There are options using all kinds of different spirits, but, of course for the purposes of this article, we’ll talk about the Ginger & Rum Fuego.
‘Fuego’ is Spanish for ‘fire’, and as you might have guessed this one is a real warmer. Made with a pressed ginger juice and dried red chilli, the drink is perfect for those rainy summer days when you want a barbecue but you’re also a bit chilly. It’s gently warming, but well rounded overall.
Jamaica Cove Black Pineapple
The first of two great Jamaica Cove rums (because we couldn’t choose a favourite!) A blended rum made from both Jamaican pot and column stills aged for a minimum of three years and laced with pineapple, this one is certainly unique. The pineapple gives it a sweetness you won’t find in other rums, making it perfect for cocktails like a Pina Colada. The nose is very sweet but also heavy and dense. There’s a complex flavour of tropical fruits, toffee and salt. A classic rum that’s perfect for mixing or sipping on its own.
Jamaica Cove Black Ginger
Jamaica Cove’s original flavour is arguably more traditional than its pineapple-infused take. Once again, this one is a blend of Jamaican rums but this one is laced with ginger and other botanicals rather than pineapple. That gives it a much more subtle flavour that will be more familiar to rum fans. It’s a very warming rum (though not so much as Ableforth’s Rumbullion) and has an almost creamy mouthfeel with sweet yet subtle flavour.
Elements 8 Republica
An incredible result of rum being blended from two different nations. Elements 8 Republica combines Cuban and Panamanian rum to create a rich blend of the two. The colour really bears mentioning because it is one of this brand’s most noteworthy features. Elements 8 Republica is one of the darkest rums on this list, with a beautiful golden sheen. The nose is light and faintly sweet with notes of vanilla and honey and perhaps a little spicy touch too. It’s simple and uncomplicated. The mouth is light and sweet but gives way to a kicking peppery taste with a hint of smoke. The finish is dry almost like gin. It’s absolutely a top class rum that’s easy to drink and bears returning to.
Barti Ddu Rum
Probably one of the more unusual rums on this list, as you might have guessed from its name Barti Ddu is rum from Wales. Well, sort of. The base is fine Caribbean rum, but The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company add a few spices including vanilla, cloves, and orange. However, the really unique ingredient is Pembrokeshire laver seaweed.
The seaweed really does give this rum a bit of a salty tang, which is definitely noticeable in the nose, along with smells like cinnamon and vanilla. The nose is sort of evocative how you’d imagine The Great British Bake-Off tent smells. But the taste of the rum is complex. There’s a certain sweetness along with some warming spicier tastes. It’s very smooth with an unusual finish you won’t find anywhere else.
