Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Goslings Black Seal📌 PinGoslings Black SealThe Bermuda rum that owns the Dark and Stormy. Goslings Black Seal is dark, dry, full of molasses, and trademarked into one cocktail so completely that the drink is legally only a Dark and Stormy if you use this rum. Honest, characterful, slightly underrated outside its home cocktail.ABV40%CountryBermudaDistilleryGoslings, BermudaOwnerGoslings familyFounded1857StyleDark blended rumPrice band$22-28 (US) / AU$50-60Best mixerGinger beer, colaWhat it tastes likeMolasses, dark caramel, dried fruit, gentle spice, a long warm finish. Full-bodied without being syrupy. Less sweet than most dark rums of similar weight.Drinks rich. Goslings

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › The Kraken Black Spiced📌 PinThe Kraken Black SpicedBlack, sweet, dramatic, with a sea-monster on the label. The Kraken is what happens when a spiced rum decides to stop pretending and just become a Halloween cocktail. Cinnamon, clove, dark molasses, and 47% ABV. Loud, fun, marketable.ABV47%CountryTrinidad / Caribbean blendDistilleryProximo Spirits blendOwnerProximo SpiritsFounded2010StyleBlack spiced rum (sweetened)Price band$22-26 (US) / AU$45-55Best mixerCola, ginger beer, apple ciderWhat it tastes likeDark molasses, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, vanilla, and a long warm finish. Almost black in the glass. The 47% ABV pushes the spices through any mixer.Sweeter

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva📌 PinDiplomatico Reserva ExclusivaThe dessert in a bottle. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva is a sweet, viscous Venezuelan rum aged up to 12 years, blended for sipping after dinner. Some purists complain about the sugar content. Most drinkers don't care. The bottle that converts whiskey people into rum people.ABV40%CountryVenezuelaDistilleryDestilerias Unidas SA, LaraOwnerDestilerias UnidasFounded1959StyleAged sipping rum (sweetened)Price band$35-45 (US) / AU$70-90Best mixerSip neat, light Old FashionedWhat it tastes likeSherry, dark chocolate, dried fig, vanilla, oak, and noticeable sweetness. The blend mixes column and pot still rums aged in ex-bourbon and ex-Spanish whiskey casks.

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Mount Gay XO📌 PinMount Gay XOThe Barbados rum that put the island on the rum map. A blend of pot- and column-still rums aged 8 to 15 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Mount Gay XO is what serious rum drinkers reach for when they want depth without paying agricole prices. Quietly excellent.ABV43%CountryBarbadosDistilleryMount Gay, Saint LucyOwnerRemy CointreauFounded1703StyleAged blended rum (8-15 years)Price band$50-60 (US) / AU$95-115Best mixerSip neat, light cocktailsWhat it tastes likeToasted oak, caramel, banana, dark fruit, gentle spice, a long finish. The pot-still component brings the body; the column-still component keeps it clean.

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Plantation 3 Stars📌 PinPlantation 3 StarsThe white rum that punches like an aged rum. Plantation 3 Stars is a blend of light Caribbean rums (Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica), some aged in oak then charcoal-filtered to clear. Real character in a clear bottle. The Daiquiri rum bartenders fight over.ABV41.2%CountryFrance (blend from Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica)DistilleryMaison FerrandOwnerMaison FerrandFounded2010StyleWhite (blended) rumPrice band$20-25 (US) / AU$50-60Best mixerLime, citrus, mintWhat it tastes likeVanilla, banana, citrus zest, faint molasses, dry finish, slight pot-still funk. The blend of three islands gives more body than Bacardi but stays clear and crisp. The

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Appleton Estate Signature📌 PinAppleton Estate SignatureThe Jamaican rum that bridges every category. Pot-still funk underneath, column-still polish on top, four years in the barrel, all done at one estate. Appleton Signature does Daiquiri, Mai Tai, sipping, and Mojito with the same bottle. The most useful rum a home bar can own.ABV40%CountryJamaicaDistilleryAppleton Estate, Nassau ValleyOwnerCampari GroupFounded1749StyleJamaican aged blended rumPrice band$25-32 (US) / AU$55-70Best mixerLime, citrus, bittersWhat it tastes likeApricot, banana, vanilla, oak, a slightly funky Jamaican backbone. The estate-grown sugar cane and limestone-filtered water give it a mineral edge. Drier than most aged

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Bacardi Superior📌 PinBacardi SuperiorThe white rum that built the Daiquiri. Filtered, mild, neutral, designed to disappear into a cocktail and let the lime do the talking. Bacardi Superior is the world's best-selling rum for a reason: it just works.ABV37.5%CountryPuerto RicoDistilleryCasa Bacardi, CatanoOwnerBacardiFounded1862StyleWhite (light) rumPrice band$15-22 (US) / AU$35-45Best mixerLime, mint, colaWhat it tastes likeLight, dry, slight vanilla, faint coconut, a clean finish. Charcoal-filtered after fermentation, which strips out colour and most of the funk you'd find in pot-still white rums.Drinks like a blank canvas. Mixes with anything. Doesn't fight you.How to drink

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Sailor Jerry Spiced📌 PinSailor Jerry SpicedSpiced rum that doesn't actively apologise for being spiced rum. Sailor Jerry is louder, drier, and stronger than Captain Morgan, with a tattooed hula girl on the bottle and 46% ABV in the bottle. The spiced rum to actually mix proper drinks with.ABV46%CountryUSVI / Caribbean blendDistillerySailor Jerry, William GrantOwnerWilliam Grant & SonsFounded1999StyleSpiced rum (sweetened)Price band$22-26 (US) / AU$45-55Best mixerGinger beer, cola, limeWhat it tastes likeVanilla, cinnamon, clove, allspice, lime peel, a warm woody finish. Drier and bigger than Captain Morgan: at 46% ABV with less sugar, the

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Captain Morgan Original Spiced📌 PinCaptain Morgan Original SpicedThe spiced rum that taught the world to drink rum and cola. Sweet, vanilla-heavy, not really rum the way purists mean it, but the bottle that put a pirate on every dorm room shelf for thirty years. Honest about what it is. Cheap, easy, fun.ABV35%CountryUSVI / variousDistilleryCaptain Morgan, DiageoOwnerDiageoFounded1944StyleSpiced rum (sweetened)Price band$18-22 (US) / AU$40-50Best mixerCola, ginger beerWhat it tastes likeVanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking spice, soft butter. Less rum and more rum-flavoured liqueur, technically. Sweet enough that the cola adds almost nothing.35% ABV is

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Rum › Havana Club 7📌 PinHavana Club 7 YearThe Cuban rum that taught Europe to sip. Aged seven years in tropical heat, dry, complex, vanilla-and-tobacco, and almost criminally affordable for what's in the glass. Havana Club 7 is what your friend who just got back from Havana keeps buying.ABV40%CountryCubaDistillerySan Jose de las LajasOwnerPernod Ricard / Cuban government joint ventureFounded1878 (modern era from 1993)StyleCuban anejoPrice band$30-40 (US) / AU$60-80Best mixerSip neat, Old FashionedWhat it tastes likeVanilla, tobacco leaf, light caramel, dark fruit, dry oak, a long warm finish. The tropical ageing intensifies everything: seven years