Premium rums for your home bar: Say cheers to Bacardi, Ron Zacapa, Havana Club, Mount Gay and more

Best rum for your home bar: Ron Zacapa XO

Gins and fine whiskies might be the toast of the town, but rum is also making a comeback of sorts. According to Statista, the rum market is expected to grow by 5.75 per cent between 2023 and 2027. Rum sales skyrocketed in India in 2021 when it grew by 24.94 per cent YOY (Source: Global Data) largely driven by dark rum.

Mixologists across India are embracing rum like never before, even as well-heeled Indians are looking beyond malts, beers and gins. While mixologists lean towards spiced rums and white rums, dark aged rums are also seeing a growing interest among Indian spirits aficionados. Mixologists will tell you that rum’s unpretentious appeal minus the snobbery that accompanies wine and malts is also driving growth.

We round up some of the finest global rums for your collection. Look out for these rums at upscale bars and retail stores in India and airport duty free stores:

Ron Zacapa XO

Created in Guatemala, Zacapa is an expression of high quality and master blending. This rum is aged to perfection in the highlands of Quetzaltenango, where it develops its complex flavour and character 2,300m above sea level. This fine rum with an XO prefix is testament that premium dark rums can rub shoulders with fine cognacs or whiskies. This exceptional rum includes a blend of rums up to 25 years old and features intense flavours that also include sweet spice.

Price: Rs 11,500

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum

Venezuela is home to one of the world’s most iconic rum brands – Diplomatico. It should come as no surprise; sugar plantations in the country date back to the 16th Century. Reserva Exclusiva is one of the most coveted rums – it won gold at the International Sugar Cane Spirits Competition and  is crafted from a fine blend of 12-year-old copper pot-still rums made from molasses and sugarcane honey exclusively in Venezuela. It’s stored in ex-Bourbon American white oak barrels for two years where it develops its unique flavours.

Price: Rs 5,000

Bacardi Ocho Reserva

When Don Facundo Bacardí Massó purchased the first Bacardi rum distillery in 1862, he pioneered a new way of making rum. The Ocho Reserva is a Bacardi legend. This unique rum comprised of notes of wood, apricot, nutmeg and butterscotch, barrel-aged for a minimum of eight (hence the name Ocho) years under the Caribbean Sun. It stayed a family secret, reserved for the Bacardi family for seven generations making it one of the oldest private rums.

Price: Rs 3,000

Havana Club 3-year old Rum

If you’ve ever been to Havana, you will know that this is a favourite with locals. This easy to drink, ultra-smooth white rum is distilled from molasses and aged for three years in Cuba. The unique flavour profile features hints of vanilla, smoked oak, almond pears and banana. It’s also a favourite with mixologists and is the perfect rum to liven up Mojitos or Daiquiris.

Price: Rs 3,000

Mounappt Gay Eclipse Heritage Blend

This quintessential Caribbean rum takes its name from the 1910 total solar eclipse visible over Barbados. This crisp and aromatic blended rum features notes of caramelised vanilla, banana and summer fruits that are complemented by oaky spices and a whiff of soft smoke. This fine rum is distilled using copper pot stills and stored in American whiskey casks.

Price: Rs 3,500

Appleton Estate 12 Year Old Rare Blend Gold Rum

This single estate Jamaica rum is aged for a minimum of 12 years in tropical climes, lending it a robust and complex flavour. This rum is smooth, robust and woody – a sophisticated expression of aged rum with aromas of toasted oak, dried fruit and hazelnut. Appleton Estate has been making fine rums since 1749. This signature rum is deep bronze in colour with a long, bittersweet finish.

Price: Rs 4,500

Plantation Rum Original Dark

This French artisanal rum brand made its India debut (it’s been launched in India by Third Eye Distillery that makes Stranger & Sons gin) in 2023. This rum was relaunched in 2015 and is positioned as a blended ‘traditionalist’ rum. It’s a blend of rums from Barbados and Jamaica and is designed to be an approachable rum. It works particularly well in cocktails. It’s great for sipping neat and with a splash of Coke too.

Price: Rs 3,500