The Best Fruity Rums

The Denizen rum lineup (tagline: Free the Flavor) is offered by New York-based Citizen Spirits and custom-crafted in the Netherlands by highly regarded rum blenders E&A Scheer. Citizen Spirits founder Nick Pelis says that creating the perfect daiquiri rum was his inspiration for the Aged White flavor profile. It’s a blend of Caribbean rums: Eighty percent from Trinidad’s Angostura distillery, the remainder from several Jamaican distilleries. Although labeled a “three-year-old rum,” significantly older rums are found in the blend alongside unaged rum, so “three years” is more accurately an average age. Before bottling it’s lightly charcoal-filtered to remove coloring.

J Wray & Nephew is a renowned overproof rum produced in Kingston, Jamaica weighing in at 126 proof. Wray & Nephew, as it's known behind bars, is not only a very popular spirit in its home country, but is also the top-selling high-strength rum in the world. It is produced from a combination of both pot and column distillations of a 30 hour fermentation of sugarcane molasses wash and proprietary house yeast.

Five Origin Select is an aged rum made from rums sourced from five Caribbean nations — Trinidad, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Guyana. Included in the blend is Guyanese rum aged 11-15 years which were distilled on the lauded Port Mourant Double Wooden Pot Still. Bottled at 92 proof, there is no added sugar, coloring or flavoring in its production. Released in February 2024, this is a permanent addition to the portfolio. (SRP $64.99)

This is one of two bottlings released for Plantation's Extrême No. 3 Collection. Both bottlings were distilled in Jamaica at the famed Long Pond Distillery in 1996. The distillery offers different styles, or marques of rums which range from lightest to most intense. This HJC bottling offers an ester rate of 345g/hlap and is said to have "a profile marked by rich spiced notes." It aged for the first 21 years in Jamaica in former bourbon barrels then for its final year in France in Ferrand casks. Bottled at cask strength.

Highly regarded U.K. independent rum bottler Mezan now exports some of their gems to the U.S. The first wave of releases includes the Jamaica XO, a blend of rums from several distilleries, and with no age statement other than an XO designation. It’s created in batches of 5000, and batches may vary in their source rum ratios. After blending, the Jamaica XO undergoes additional aging in used American oak barrels. There’s no sugar or coloring added to this rum, a hallmark of the Mezan lineup.

Portland, Oregon, is a hotbed of startup distilleries. Eastside Distilling, launched in 2008, was an early pioneer, making a wide variety of spirits, including traditional and flavored whiskies and rums, as well as seasonal liqueurs, e.g. Eggnog and Peppermint Bark. The spirit basis of their flavored rums (ginger, coffee, spiced) is their unaged Silver Rum, pot distilled to 130 proof before bottling at 80 proof. The minimalist packaging gives no hint that this isn't yet another taste-free, column-distilled white rum.

The fourth release in the Exceptional Cask Selection. Foursquare provides a rum aged for five years in ex-bourbon barrels and then an additional six years in ex-zinfandel wine casks. The rums were blended and bottled in September of 2015.

Two James Doctor Bird Jamaican Rum is a pot-still rum created and aged for 6+ years at the Worthy Park Distillery. It is then transported to the Two James Distillery in Detroit, Michigan. There, it finishes its maturation in Moscatel sherry casks before being blended and bottled at 50% ABV.

Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum is produced in small batches and flavored with real shredded coconut. It is bottled at 35% ABV.

Balcones Rumble is a spirit all its own. Made from Turbinado sugar, wildflower honey and Mission figs, this spirit continues the Balcones tradition of releasing forward-thinking products. Note: This technically does not qualify as a "rum" as it isn't made from sugarcane or its by-products alone.