The Top Aged Caribbean Rums Under $50

The Matusalem brand originated in Cuba, an allusion that remains on the label as "the Spirit of Cuba," and migrated to the Dominican Republic at the outset of the revolution. The rum is molasses-based, aged in a solera system and bottled with an average age of 15 years. The color is brilliant, deep gold; the legs are far slower moving than any a salsa dancer's.

In Jamaican folklore, "duppies" are havoc-creating ghosts or spirits. It’s not a stretch to realize that the “duppy share” is a Jamaican spin on the well-known “angels’ share,”, wherein aging spirits evaporate from the barrel and into the possession of duppies. London-based Westbourne Spirits blends three-year aged Jamaican rum from Worthy Park with five-year Bajan rum from Foursquare in Barbados, then bottles it at 80 proof.

William McCoy was one of the original rum runners, illegally smuggling rum into the U.S. during Prohibition. Because he did not adulterate his spirits to increase his profit margin as did other bootleggers, “the real McCoy” became a term for authenticity. In 2012, documentary filmmaker Bailey Pryor, having produced a film about McCoy, started The Real McCoy Spirits. All Real McCoy rums are sourced from the highly regarded Foursquare Distillery in Barbados, who also happened to supply William back in the day. A blend of pot and column-still rums. This particular expression is aged for twelve years with no sugar or coloring added.

Flor de Caña was founded in 1890 near the base of San Cristóbal Volcano, the highest and one of the most active volcanoes in Nicaragua. The brand's rums are produced from molasses from estate-grown sugarcane. American white oak barrels formerly used to age bourbon are used to age the rum. The 18 listed on the bottle isn't an age statement, but rather indicates an average of the rums used.

Atlantico Gran Reserva (formerly Private Cask) is the top marque from Atlantico, a brand which distills both molasses and cane juice rums. They're aged separately, then married together and re-aged, before entering the solera-aging system. For the Gran Reserva, that results with a final blend which includes rums up to 25 years in age. The Atlantico portfolio got an update to their packaging in 2017.

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.

Drawing on the Netherlands long history of sourcing and blending rum, Denizen is looking to bring a more classic sensibility to your rum cocktails. Merchant’s Reserve combines Rhum Grand Arome from Martinique and rums from four different Jamaican distilleries: Clarendon, Hampden, New Yarmouth, and Worthy Park. 60% of the rum has been aged for 8 years in ex-bourbon barrels.

This rum is a distinct blend of pot and column distilled rums from four ports across the Caribbean. The rums include: a Barbadian 8-year-old, a Jamaican 4-year-old, a Nicaraguan 5-8-year-old, and a Panamanian 6-year-old. It is blended and bottled at 43% ABV.

Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum was first produced in 1976 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Guatemalan town of Zacapa. It's a rum made from raw sugarcane honey grown on the Zacapa estate high in the hills of Guatemala, extracted from the first pressing of sugarcane juice. It is then fermented using a proprietary strain of pineapple yeast and distilled in a copper-lined column still. After distillation, the rum is aged in a Solera process from a series of casks which once held bourbon, oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximenez sherry. The rums in the blend vary between 6 and 23 years of age.

The Extra Old was released to mark Alexandre Gabriel’s 20th anniversary at the helm of Cognac Ferrand. The Extra Old showcases Plantation’s oldest Bajan rum reserves, aged for 12-20 years in bourbon casks. The selected rums are blended at Château de Bonbonnet in France and finished in small French oak casks for 12-18 months.

This is the Venezuelan distillery’s flagship rum, called “exclusiva” as a tribute to their 18th century founder Don Juancho Nieto Meléndez, who was always in search of exclusive flavors for his rums. It’s a blend of 12 year old copper pot-still rums made from both molasses and sugarcane honey, aged in ex-bourbon barrels.

In May of 2007 Saint Lucia Distillery experienced a major fire. In the chaos that happened during the aftermath, this rum was forgotten for a time by the cellar master. When it was discovered it was decided to make a special blend in commemoration of the event. The rum is a blend of Coffey still and continuous -still distillate; it is aged separately according to still type in former bourbon and Tennessee whiskey barrels before being married together in oak to complete the aging process for an additional 5 years. All told, the rums are aged from 7-12 years.