Rum has been one of the winners of lockdown, with sales skyrocketing as people experiment more with cocktails at home and build their own home bars. We’ve also been hugely impressed with the new rums we’ve seen this year. Here’s our selection of the best that would make great gifts for your loved ones - or yourself. My goodness, we deserve a tot this Winter!
Hattiers Rum
Hattiers source fine rums from around the world and blend and bottle them in Devon. Perfect for sipping alone or mixing, they currently have three to choose from: a navy strength, which is like a fresh danish pastry with banana cream filling; the premium reserve rum, which is perfumed and silky smooth and a premium, blended aged white rum, which is reminiscent of vanilla fudge with pineapple notes. Highly recommended.
ABV: 40% - 54.5%
Size: 70cl
Find here: £37.50 - £56
Equiano Rum
This is the world’s first African and Caribbean rum blend, named after Olaudah Equiano, a freedom fighter who played an important part in the abolition movement. In this rum, two great distilleries combine: Foursquare in Barbados and Gray's Distillery in Mauritius. The Foursquare is aged in American white oak, while the Gray's is aged in both Cognac casks and French limousin oak before the both are put together and left to mellow in ex-Bourbon casks. The result is rich and creamy with notes of chocolate, toast, orange peel and a kick of ginger, with some red fruit on the finish. Great for sipping or in cocktails!
ABV: 43%
Size: 70cl
Find here: Master of Malt or Equino.com
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
This stunning sipping rum from Venezuela is molasses-based and produced with a blend of exclusive rum reserves aged for up to twelve years. With wine-like viscosity, this rum is super smooth with a beautiful nose of orange peel, toffee and licorice with elements of carmel and fudge on the finish. Elegant and delicious.
ABV: 40%
Size: 70cl
Find here: UK £38.75 // US $39.99
Merser & Co Double-Barrel Rum
One of Helena’s absolute favourites, this is an elegant, understated style of golden rum, created by blending aged rums from Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guatemala and Panama before giving them a secondary cask maturation and being bottled in London. A great one for sipping over ice, with its subtle vanilla pod, caramel and tropical fruit notes.
ABV: 43.1%
Size: 70cl
Find here: £34.95
Don Papa Rye Aged Rum
This delicious new edition from the Don Papa: the rum Gods based in the Philippines, has been aged for four years in American rye casks. The result is a fragrant, peppery and spicy rum that’s silky smooth and quite different from what they’ve done before. We love it and are very happy sipping it alone. Launching this week at Harvey Nichols!
ABV: 45%
Find here: £65
‘The 45’ Scottish Spiced Rum
Handcrafted in Glasgow in very small batches, 45 Scottish Spiced Rum is a golden rum infused with interesting local botanicals such as smoked seaweed and liquorice as well a ginger and orange zest. At 45% it is flavourful and very distinctive. A perfect addition to some festive cocktails.
ABV: 45%
Size: 70cl
Find here: £37.50
Black Tot 50th Anniversary Rum
This Rum celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Black Tot Day, which is the day in 1970 when rum rationing to those in the Navy ceased. A special limited edition, this rum hails from the Caribbean with a blend of rums from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad, and is rich with layers of flavour including Vanilla pods, dark chocolate, nuts and baked bananas. Touches of mint, liquorice and lime juice keep everything in balance. Sumptuous and decadent, this is a great rum for Christmas.
ABV: 54.5%
Size: 70cl
Find here: £110
Fire Dept. Coffee: Rum-infused
Rum lover and a coffee lover? US brand Fire Dept. Coffee is a veteran-owned business that's run by firefighters who sell high-quality coffee, with 10% of net proceeds donated to help first responders that have become sick or injured while on the job. They have a fantastic range of booze-infused coffees too including this rum one! It’s a delicious, sweet and very smooth coffee where the rum flavour comes through in just the right amount. Also try their bourbon, tequila and other whiskey-infused coffees for a festive pick me up!
ABV: 0%
Size: 12oz
Find it at Firedeptcoffee.com $19.99
Love whisky too? Then make sure to check out our 2020 whisky gift guide! Oh, and let’s not forget our vodka, tequila and gin gift guides too!