The mercury is rising, which can only mean one thing – it’s time for rum! Whether you’re sipping or shaking up a storm, these new and established tipples are sure to impress.
Few spirit categories have enjoyed the monumental growth in Asia that we’ve seen with rum over the past few years. Whisky and cognac lovers are increasingly reaching for the best sipping rums, spirits with just as much complexity as a fine single malt, while bartender (who have always secretly loved rum) and bringing pedigree to some of the oldest libations on the books by using top-shelf rums from the world’s best producers in their drinks.
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While we’ve broken down the different rum styles here, there are literally hundreds of rums to choose from, so we’ve taken the liberty of nudging a few to the front of your list.
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Spytail Black Ginger
Based on a 19th Century French recipe for barrel aging Caribbean rum with fresh ginger and spices, newly launched Spytail Black Ginger Rum is distilled in the tropics and then aged and spiced in Cognac.
Presented in an eye-catching round bottle reminiscent of a bathysphere (look through the ‘porthole’ to see coordinates to the final resting place of Jules Vernes), expect a sweet and spicy aged rum that’s ideal for tall cold summer rum cocktails like Dark & Stormys and Cuba Libres.
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Bumbu
A rum that stands out from the pack, Bumbu instills the artistry of small-batch craft spirits, as well as the exotic allure of the pirate era. Housed in a gleaming timber case complete with gold inlay, Bumbu is a luxurious, ultra-premium rum made from sugarcane sourced from Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, and Honduras.
Crafted with coral limestone-filtered water, in the birthplace of rum, Barbados, the spirit is aged for up to 15 years in oak barrels from Kentucky. The result is not only an exceptionally smooth and refined spirit but one with an astonishing complexity – each sugarcane brings its own profile, from coffee and cacao to coriander and ginger. Look out for touches of smoke, roasted nuts, cinnamon, and Madagascar vanilla.
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Rhum Clement Limited-Edition by JONONE
If you’re not already exploring the myriad new rums available in Asia, you’re behind the curve. Elegant, luxurious aged rums are now in vogue; add a touch of contemporary art and you have a surefire winner.
Rhum Clement, esteemed producer of rhum agricole from Martinique, has collaborated with acclaimed Caribbean street artists Jonone to create a truly special bottle for their sugarcane juice rum.
The Rhum Clement Limited-Edition by JONONE is a striking, glossy black bottle housing the brand’s V.S.O.P. aged agricole and decorated with the iconic graffiti the Dominican American artist is best known for. Limited to just 30,000 eye-catching bottles, this unique take on Clement’s V.S.O.P. is aged for four years in re-charred Bourbon and virgin Limousin barriques, and boasts wonderful cocoa bean aromas with exotic spice, dried fruit and touches of banana crème brûlée.
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St. George California Agricole Rum
One of the most unique rums presently produced in the US, St. George California Agricole Rum has taken the cocktail scene by storm with its intense, sultry, almost savoury sugarcane flavour profile. Unapologetically robust and vegetal, this rum is made using hand-pressed small-diameter southern California cane from the Imperial Valley, which is distilled in copper pot stills.
The resulting spirit is beautifully brazen and lends a whole new dimension to classic and contemporary cocktails, including the humble stalwart, the Cuba Libre. An essential for any rumophile, the drop’s grassy, “funky” persona is perfect for experimentation. A reserve edition is barrel-aged in French oak, which tempers some of the swagger and adds a touch of spice.
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Papa’s Pilar Dark Rum
Rarely is a spirit named for a writer, but if it was, Hemmingway would be an obvious candidate. Hemmingway is credited for creating the Papa Doble daiquiri during his time in Cuba and elegant new spirit Papa’s Pilar Dark Rum is a touch of Latino nostalgia in a bottle, with a beautiful mahogany brown hue, and hints of smoke, candied mango and orange rind on the nose.
Bottled at 43% ABV, just the way Papa would have liked it, this is a rum that’s as comfortable in a tumbler with a couple of ice cubes as it is as the base of a classic rum cocktail. With both charred oak and ex-sherry barrels used to age both pot and column distilled rums from Barbados, Panama, The Dominican Republic, and Florida, expect hints of wood, cinnamon, and vanilla, with touches of coffee and even leather.
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Rum Diplomatico Single Vintage 2000
For a superbly aged rum experience, you can’t go past the Rum Diplomatico Single Vintage 2000, a beautifully balanced aged rum that’s ideal for warm summer nights. Aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 10 years and then for an additional two in Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks, this unique spirit was bottled in the year 2000.
With 90 percent of the batch distilled in copper pot stills and the last 10 percent in kettle stills, this rum boasts a fantastically complex flavour profile with brown sugar, maple syrup, and plum cake on the nose, followed by tons of honey, ginger, and caramel on the palate.
Rum Nation Jamaica White Pot Still Rum
Another fantastic white rum that will lend itself to a ton of summer-time concoctions is Rum Nation Jamaica White Pot Still Rum, a brash and unashamedly bold spirit bottled at 57% ABV. Going against the rum grain as an unaged spirit, Jamaican Pot Still features a buttery mouthfeel with an intense fruity profile laced with green banana, white pepper, and hints of citrus.
Not for the faint-hearted, expect notes of butterscotch, tea, and sandalwood, as well as a ton of complexity, making this a mixing rum rather than a sipping tipple.
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Ron Zacapa Centenario Sistema Solera 23
An acclaimed sipping rum from Guatemala, and winner of a platinum medal from the prestigious Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago, Ron Zacapa Centenario Sistema Solera 23 is made using raw sugarcane rums aged between six and 23 years, which are blended together in a solera, a system of tiered casks designed to age younger and older spirits consistently.
Aging in bourbon and Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks gives a lovely complexity and soft oaky finish, with touches of roasted coffee, butterscotch, vanilla, and dark chocolate, and resulting in a rum that’s loved by bartenders and connoisseurs alike.
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Pyrat XO Rum
With a bottle that will make you feel like a pirate and an elegant flavour profile laced with molasses sweetness and hints of burnt orange that will have you spouting poetry, Pyrat XO Rum is a blend of nine Caribbean rums aged up to 15 years and aged in American sweet oak barrels.
A great value for money option, don’t be afraid to use this savvy spirit in classic cocktails like the Hemmingway Daiquiri or the Cuba Libre.
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La Mauny 1749
As pedigree rums begin to get the appreciation they deserve in Asia, connoisseurs are increasingly reaching for rhum agricoles, light, zesty aged rums made from fermented sugar cane. Distilled by La Mauny in Martinique in the French West Indies, La Mauny 1749 is a stunning expression of the agricole tradition, with a rich honey colour thanks to 12 months in French oak.
Perfectly positioned at the centre of the “Amber” rum spectrum, 1749 boasts a mild smokiness with cane sweetness, touches of oak and earthiness, subtle spices, and a smooth finish that makes it the ideal sipping rum for increasingly cooler nights.
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