Rum by type

What sets the types apart

Rum comes in many styles: white and unaged, wood-aged, and spiced. Spiced rum is rum with added spices, such as vanilla, cinnamon or orange peel, often with a little sugar. This makes it softer and sweeter than pure rum, and easy to mix with cola or ginger beer. Where a rum comes from and how it is made is stated on the label. Below, for each type, you will find the explanation and which bottles are in the shop.

White rum is clear and light, the basis for a mojito or daiquiri. Aged rum has spent years in oak and is rounder, with vanilla, caramel and dried fruit; it can also be enjoyed neat. Rum from English-speaking islands such as Jamaica is often fuller and more powerful, rum from Spanish-speaking countries usually lighter and smoother, and rhum agricole from the French Antilles is distilled from fresh sugar cane juice instead of molasses. An opened bottle of rum keeps well for a long time, upright and out of the sun. For a cocktail, a young, light rum is often the best choice; an old rum is best tasted neat or with a single ice cube.