Top Rated Spanish-Style Rums

This is a non-age statement rum produced in Venezuela with the original distillery dating back to 1938. Originally produced in 1963 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Industrias Pampero, Pampero Aniversario Reserva Exclusiva is distilled on a continuous column still from fermented sugarcane molasses and is comprised of rums aged 2-8 years.

During Prohibition, there was a wooden schooner known for smuggling rum from the Caribbean to the U.S; its name was Kirk & Sweeney and was finally seized in 1924 by the Coast Guard with its cargo full of rum. Kirk & Sweeney rum is produced at the Bermúdez Distillery in the Dominican Republic, a family-owned and operated distillery since 1857. The rum is aged for 12 years in new, lightly-charred, American oak.

This limited edition rum from the House of Angostura pays homage to Don Carlos Siegert, son of the brand's founder, Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert, who came up with the original recipe for their famous bitters. Found notes suggest Don Carlos had envisioned a blend such as this one that never came to fruition. It's a blend of 8 and 10 year old rums that spend 12 months in first fill ex-bourbon casks.

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.

Diplomático rums are produced in Venezuela at a facility that prides itself on its environmental initiatives as it practices traditional methods of rum production. This Reserva is made from rums averaging 8 years old. It's a dark gold-colored rum made from a similar composition of Diplomático’s blanco, with a 50/50 blend of molasses-based rum distilled in column-stills and sugarcane rums distilled in copper pots; it is aged in used bourbon barrels.

Diplomático rums are produced in tribute to 18th century rum distiller Don Juancho Nieto Meléndez in Venezuela. This blanco is more mature than most rums in its category. It’s made from a blend of rums that are between 2 and 6 years of age - 50/50 ratio of column-still molasses-based rum and pot-still sugarcane rums. It is then filtered for clarity.

“Añejo” is actually somewhat of a misnomer for this rum. Though it has the appearance of an older marque, it’s actually the youngest in the brand’s range, using rums averaging 2 - 4 years old, slightly younger than their Blanco. It’s predominantly made from light rum made from molasses and produced in continuous column stills blended with heavy rum made from sugar cane honey (a dark syrup made by filtering and then boiling the water out of the sugar cane juice).. That is distilled in copper pot stills, then aged in used bourbon barrels.

Carta Vieja Ron Extra Claro is distilled from molasses before it is aged for 4 years in either American or Canadian oak barrels. After being aged it is filtered to remove all the color to produce to "extra claro."

Produced in the Dominican Republic, this light rum is distilled from molasses. After aging in a solera, the rum is charcoal-filtered before bottling.

Distilled in the Dominican Republic, this rum is then aged in a solera system. Ron Matusalem was founded in Cuba, but the family that owned the brand fled in the 1950's due to the Castro regime. It has been made in the Domincan Republic ever since. Note: The Solera 7 is not currently available in the US.