We live in a golden age of rum, but you’d never know it from the chatter of American spirits aficionados. Their talk seems focused on whiskey all the time, with occasional forays into tequila and mezcal. Rum? Of all the aged spirits, rum suffers most from a misguided, lowly reputation. For many people—in 2024, incredibly enough—rum is still just a parties-and-pirates thing, something for mojitos or fruity daiquiris or to mix with Coca-Cola. I feel like I am always imploring serious spirits drinkers to give high-end aged rum a try, to begin their own journey into this fascinating spirit.

I’ve been lucky. I had an early soaking in the pleasures of aged rum. It began in the 1990s, when I spent a lot of time in Central America, particularly Nicaragua. At that time, Nicaragua was emerging from more than a decade of civil war. Its top rum brand, Flor de Caña, had amassed a huge quantity of aged barrels it couldn’t sell under Sandinista rule. (Back then, by some accounts, Flor de Caña had the largest reserve of aged rum in the world.) In late 1990s Nicaragua, you could buy a bottle of 7-year-old Flor de Caña in a bar for about $4—generally served with tonic and Coke, limes, and a big bucket of ice. I could not begin to count how many empty bottles of 7-year-old Flor de Caña were left floating in the ice bucket on those tropical nights.

As I began writing about spirits professionally in the aughts, I fell in love with rhum agricole from Martinique and Guadalupe, which was just starting to become widely available in the U.S. Unlike most rum in the Caribbean, rhum agricole is made with fresh-cut sugarcane juice—rather than molasses—which gives it complex grassy, smoky, funky notes. Brands like Rhum Clément, Rhum JM, and Neisson have been the standard-bearers of rhum agricole to most American rum fans. Rhum agricole follows strict rules enforced by an “appellation d’origine contrôlée” in France, where I’ve gone even deeper into the world of “rum with an h.”

Soon enough, we started to see more high-ester, pot-still rums from producers such as Hampden Estate, Long Pond, or Worthy Park from Jamaica, Foursquare from Barbados, or the now-defunct Caroni from Trinidad, barrels of which are still coveted by collectors. Rum heads also started talking about rum as a spirit with genuine terroir—such as those from the mountainous region of Trelawny, in Jamaica, a veritable grand cru of rum. Rums from regions outside the Caribbean started popping up, from places as far flung as Fiji, Cambodia, Oaxaca, or Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.

Rum begins, of course, with sugarcane. And just as with grapes or grain, there are numerous varieties of sugarcane. Rural Haiti, for instance, is a living agricultural museum of lost cane varieties. But it’s usually how that harvested sugarcane is processed that primarily determines the flavor. While the French islands tend to favor using fresh-cut sugarcane juice, most rum in the Caribbean is made from molasses, the byproduct of refining sugarcane. Some Haitian rums will be made with cane syrup rather than fresh cane juice. “Blackstrap”—heavier, darker molasses rums—became popular in the former British colonies, such as Cruzan from St. Croix or Goslings from Bermuda. Then there is the rich, creamy, dark Demerara rums of Guyana, such as El Dorado.

Then there is the barrel aging, which in the hot, humid tropics is quite different than with other brown spirits. So-called “tropical aging” runs about three to four times faster than in, say, Kentucky or Scotland or Cognac. Leave most rum in a Caribbean cellar for a couple of decades and you’ll have very little liquid left in the barrel. That’s why it’s relatively rare to find rums aged longer than 12 or 15 years. Which could be one reason why rum is ignored by spirits geeks wowed by age and numbers.

What I’m trying to tell you is that rum is just as diverse and complex as any other brown spirit in the world. If you’ve never explored rum’s high end, now is a perfect time to give it a shot—as we enter what I call “splurge season” for spirits.

What follows is my introduction to the wide world of high-end rum. It’s my quest to point you to some unique rums you may not know, from places both familiar (Jamaica, Massachusetts) and far flung (Réunion Island, Cambodia).

These rums are not cheap—the spirit has come a long way from those $4 bottles of 7-year-old Flor de Caña I drank in the late 1990s. But these are rums for serious sipping, and they belong next to the finest whiskeys, brandies, and agave spirits on your back bar.

Molasses Based Rums

Papalin 7-Year-Old Original Vatted Rum ($65)

A blend of pot still rums from two of Jamaica’s top distilleries, Hampden Estate and Worthy Park. Complex aromas of banana, grilled pineapple, dried apricot, smoke, asphalt, and that tell-tale Jamaican rum funk. On the palate, it’s supple and round, charged by spices like cardamom and clove. This is a great intro to high-ester Jamaican rums. (47 percent ABV)

Privateer/PM Spirits Collab “Queen’s Share” 6 Year Single Barrel ($119)

We don’t often think of rums coming from North America, but at one time Massachusetts was a historic hub of rum making. Privateer brings back that tradition with this single-barrel collaboration with PM Spirits. This muscular rum is for cask-strength whiskey fans who like high proof (60.3 percent ABV), with notes of candied fruit, honey, mint, chocolate, and a spicy finish. 

2006 Isautier 16-Year-Old Molasses Rum ($135)

Rums from Réunion Island are new to me, and this one blew me away. Complex, with varnishy aromas of aged brandy, burnt orange peel, and spice cabinet. On the palate, it’s seamless and spicy, with surprising freshness and fruitiness, and a long finish. A friend called this “the Cognac of the Indian Ocean,” and I agree. (57 percent ABV)

Hampden Great House 2024 Edition ($130)

One-hundred percent pot still rum from one of the world’s great distilleries, in Trelawny—the “grand cru” of Jamaican rum. Hampden Estate’s standard 7-year-old bottling is one of my go-tos. The annual Great House bottling is always one of the most anticipated rums of the year—don’t sleep on it, because it sells out fast. This is everything you hope for in a Jamaican rum, with a heady nose that’s funky, floral, and smoky, with aromas redolent of bananas Foster. On the palate, it’s warm and spicy, with notes of ripe pear, white pepper, ginger, and tobacco, and a long finish of toasted coconut and macadamia. (57 percent ABV)

Appleton Estate 21-Year-Old ($140)

From Jamaica’s most well-known distillery, this aged rum is powerful, lavish, and showy, but also delicious. The nose is a gaudy swirl of orange peel, vanilla bean, cocoa, and nutmeg. On the palate, there’s citrus, allspice and clove, maple and butterscotch, then comes the long finish of espresso and dark chocolate. A hedonistic, classic aged rum. (43 percent ABV)

Flor de Caña 25-Year-Old ($170)

A benchmark Central American rum, and one of the oldest you’ll find anywhere. Rich and luxurious on the palate, with notes of creme brulee, butterscotch, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, a touch of smoke, attractive oak, and a long finish. This is the one to convert a bourbon bro who looks down his nose at rum. (40 percent ABV)

La Maison & Velier Flag Series "Cambodia 2016" 8 Years Old ($ N/A)

Velier regularly releases rums from around the world as part of its Flag Series. This one, from Samai Distillery in Cambodia is one of the best I’ve tasted. Aged five years in Cambodia and another three in Europe, it’s a gorgeous mix of fruity and mineral, with mango, banana, and tropical flowers on the nose and rich cocoa and baking spice on the palate, with an undercurrent of miso and soy sauce. This is an incredibly unique rum that will be making its way into stores very soon, via PM Spirits. (48.7 percent abv)

Fresh Sugarcane Based Rums

Alambique Serrano Single Cask #14 ($80)

When I say Oaxaca, your mind probably runs to mezcal rather than rum. But this distillery is making some of the best rums in the Americas right now. Using cane grown at more than 2,500 feet elevation and aged 24 months in ex-bourbon casks, this is a fascinating rum with a savory core and fresh green notes of salted olive, watermelon rind, green banana, along with candied berry, and spiced with cardamom and clove. Super unique, and available for a good price. (55.8 percent ABV)

Neisson Profil 107 Bio ($180)

One of Martinique’s best-known distilleries, Neisson’s white rhum agricole has become a cocktail-bar staple. This one is aged in ex-bourbon casks for 15 months, and it adds crème brûlée notes to the classic agricole grassiness, along with lavender and orange peel. Velvety in texture, notes of toasted coconut, spice, and a long honeyed finish. (53.8 percent ABV) 

Saint James 12-Year-Old Rhum Vieux Agricole ($220)

One of Martinique’s legendary producers, this benchmark agricole is earthy and complex. At first, bright, pretty aromas of flowers, cut grass, and baking spice, and then it turns deeper and darker, with dried plum, tobacco, and pepper that carries onto a long finish. There’s something old-fashioned and ineffable here. An incredible spirit. (43 percent ABV)

Trois Rivières "Triple Millésime" Rhum Vieux Agricole ($331)

I tasted this at Whisky Live in Paris a few weeks ago, and I was blown away. Among the finest spirits I tasted in 2024— or any year, really. Elegant, powerful, textured, seamless. A swirl of tropical fruit, marmalade, spice, tobacco, and a finish that goes on for miles. It can stand with the finest aged scotch and Cognac, and should be part of a serious aficionado’s collection. (42 percent ABV)

Cane Syrup Based Rum

2019 Providence 3-Year-Old ($290)

From a descendent of Haiti’s rum royalty, the Barbancourt family. It’s hard to believe this is only 3 years old, but it shows how little numbers matter. This is so complex, with grilled pineapple, flambéed banana, tobacco, baking spice, and so much energy and tension. Cheap? No. Worth it? Absolutely. (52 percent ABV)