Shaking off its whitewashed island vibes and kitschy pirate associations, rum – like gin and tequila before it – is having a revival. With UK rum sales reaching £1.1bn at the end of 2023, and the category expected to rise by 3% annually by 2027, rum is among the few spirits bucking the global downward trend. It’s also experiencing the same appetite for “premiumisation” as the rest of the spirits industry: less of the poor-quality punch spirit and more high-quality artisanal or luxury-branded rum.

What is rum? Basically, it’s a spirit made from sugar cane, either in the form of cane molasses or fresh sugar cane juice, which is then fermented and distilled. The liquid can then be aged in oak barrels, matured in ex-liquor casks – such as sherry or bourbon – or infused with flavourings (the best rums use natural botanicals rather than synthetic extracts). White rum is made by taking the virgin distillate and bottling without ageing, while golden or aged rums will take on colour and flavour from time in barrels or casks; dark rums may also have extra molasses added at a later stage. Spiced or otherwise flavoured rums are usually white rums that have been flavoured after distillation.

It’s impossible to talk about rum without addressing its complicated past. Its inextricable links to the slave trade and colonialism shouldn’t be ignored. While there are brilliant, ethical rum brands doing great things in the Caribbean, Africa and beyond, many have profited from this dark legacy.

Here, I’ve tried to focus on small-scale independent rums that are at least partly black or people-of-colour-owned, or those with a less unsavoury backstory. There are rums here from around the world and closer to home, a mix of the best-tasting white, aged, spiced and flavoured varieties from my test of 30. All are wonderful and a world away from many poorly made rums.

Whether you like to sip yours fireside (in the absence of a beach bar), stir into a minty jug of mojito or create all manner of quaffable cocktails, here is my selection of deliciously drinkable rums, without a pirate hat to be seen.

The best rums for 2026

Best aged rum

Kakira Gold seven-year-old rum, 70cl

The Kakira sugar estate has grown sugarcane on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda since 1930, but more recently decided to put the molasses byproduct to good use by creating a spirits brand – reducing carbon and waste in the process. Its flagship International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) gold medal-winning Kakira Gold seven-year-old rum is a triumph of tropical fruit and vanilla, with layers of nutty flavour. This is because of the ageing process in bourbon and sherry casks using a solera system (whereby young liquid is added to older in barrel rotation). I like it on the rocks or mixed with ginger ale and a slice of lime.

Best Caribbean rum

Kromanti plantain rum, 70cl

The father-and-daughter duo behind Kromanti aim to honour their Caribbean ancestors with this authentic expression of rum with traditional herbs and spices. Using two- and three-year-old golden rums from Venezuela and a lighter, fresher sugar-cane rum from the Dominican Republic, the base is infused with just-ripe plantain to a secret family recipe. It’s a nod to the herbal-infused rums made in Caribbean rum shacks and is intended for sipping. On the palate, it’s well-balanced, grassy and delicately fruity – a world away from mass-produced sticky Caribbean rums destined for punch.

Best Thai rum

Phraya Rum Elements, 70cl

Phraya is an award-winning golden rum created at the Sangsom distillery, one of the oldest distilleries in Thailand, using sugarcane from the fertile Kanchanaburi region and water from the Tha Chin River – hence “Elements” in the name. Ageing takes place in bourbon casks next to a cool, breezy lagoon, which slows down the usual rate of maturation. This allows depth of flavour to develop in the liquid before the distillery’s master blender handpicks aged rum for blending. The result is a smooth, rich and sweet rum made in the characteristic Thai style, with plenty of vanilla and gentle spicing. Ideal for any mixed rum drinks – I love it in a lighter dark’n’stormy.

Best spiced rum

Las Olas premium spiced rum, 70cl

One of Stormzy’s favourites, Las Olas spiced rum is everything a spiced rum should be but rarely is. Though made in London, it has a quality blend of Jamaican and Bajan rums with top-notch ingredients and a spicing through natural botanicals rather than cheaper extracts. This rum is slow, cold macerated and glorious to drink. A big hit of fresh cherry dominates before lime, vanilla, cacao and baking spice come through. Drink however you usually would drink a spiced rum and revel in the difference. The brand recently launched a ready-to-drink rum punch can that’s worth a punt, too.

For more, read our guide to the best tinned drinks from our test of 40

Best unusual rum

Reign baobab and hibiscus rum, 70cl

Amma Mensah is the London-born, Ghanaian founder of Reign Rum, aiming to reclaim Africa’s rum history. Reign is distilled from a former colonial plantation, now a certified organic farm in the Asante Kingdom, where the Savannah meets the rainforest. The brand uses its own sustainably farmed organic sugarcane to create this range of award-winning rums. Imbued with African botanicals of natural baobab, hibiscus, rooibos, passion fruit and blood orange, this is floral, tangy and amazing in cocktails (the purple colour is natural from the hibiscus). Try with sparkling wine or as a sour.

Best white rum

Karisimbi white rum, 70cl

This gorilla-saving rum was the highest awarded white rum at the 2024 IWSC awards, beating many big names to the gold medal. A blend of pot-still molasses-based rums from well-known Jamaican distilleries and column-still fresh-cane-juice rum from the Dominican Republic, this young and bright white British-made rum is cool and refreshing, with juicy pineapple flavour and banana, and perfect for pouring into a zingy mojito. The brand puts 10% of profits towards protecting the endangered mountain gorillas of Karisimbi at the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Best dark rum

Black Tot Historic solera rum, 70cl

In 1972, Sukhinder Singh’s parents were, he believes, the first British Asians to gain a licence to sell alcohol, running an award-winning shop for many years and acting as trailblazers for the industry. Singh and his brother went on to found the Whisky Exchange; today they create fine spirits, including Black Tot rum.

Black Tot Historic Solera is a rich, dark rum made with a blend of aged Guyanese, Bajan and Jamaican rums. It’s matured in Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry casks in a solera system, before being bottled in Scotland. Think sticky figs and dates, along with dark chocolate, making it a tempting after-dinner digestif. I also made a calypso coffee with it, which felt particularly decadent. The Black Tot website suggests adding a splash to espresso, too.

Best fruity rum

Flat Cap vanilla and cherry rum, 20cl

And now for something completely different. This is a fun little flavoured white rum traditionally distilled in hand-beaten copper stills in the West Indies, then infused with natural flavours and bottled in London. Flat Cap (named in honour of the founder’s Jamaican father) has a variety of flavoured rums and a pure white, but this vanilla and cherry iteration is bold with big cherry bakewell flavours that are just asking to be mixed up into cocktails. I’d suggest a take on a daiquiri, or even serving in hard shakes, but it’s also great mixed with cola for an easy and fun sweet serve.

Best sipping rum

Ten To One Five Origin Select, 70cl

This rum is so fantastic, it feels almost criminal to dilute it down. Ten To One Five Origin Select is a blend of rums from Trinidad, Barbados, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, plus a Guyanese rum aged up to 15 years and distilled on the famous Port Mourant double wooden-pot still (installed in 1732 and the only one of its kind still in existence, responsible for many top rums). Beautifully golden and complex, with the warming, spicy flavours you’d expect with proper ageing, this is less a tropical fruit rum and more sweet stone fruit and apple flavours. Enjoyed straight, it’s wonderfully sippable, but I must confess it’s also lovely as a rum old-fashioned.

Best flavoured rum

Matugga mocha rum, 70cl

The husband-and-wife team behind Matugga Rum founded the first rum distillery in central Scotland in 2018 and were one of the first UK producers to distil it from scratch. With strong links to Uganda and Jamaica, Matugga uses traditional rum-making processes and east African sugarcane (they’re developing their own plantation on family land in Matugga in the hope of becoming cane-to-cask producers), distilled in a 2,000l copper still. I fell for the Matugga mocha rum, white rum infused with Ugandan coffee and cocoa beans – temptingly aromatic with gorgeous natural flavours. It’s good alone, but unbeatable in a rum-based espresso martini (hold the Kahlua).

For more tried and tested spirits:
The best whisky
The best tequila and mezcal
The best gins for G&Ts, martinis and negronis

Joanne Gould is a food, drink and lifestyle writer with a decade of experience. As well as enthusiastically eating her way through London’s best bars and restaurants, she’s also a keen home cook and can often be found trying a new recipe or kitchen gadget, while taste-testing anything from South African wines to speciality coffee or scotch. Luckily, she also enjoys walking, running and keeping fit and healthy in her spare time – for balance