A bourbon lover’s guide to the best spirit you’re not drinking yet.
Early adopters have long prophesied rum’s rise. Surely, it would only be a matter of time until bourbon drinkers would be drawn in by the two drinks’ similarities.
They were right in one sense but wrong in another. Bourbon whiskey shares much with rum but whiskey fanatics will only convert if given a pressing reason to. And ironically, it’s bourbon’s own swelling popularity that’s provided one.
There are other, perhaps even better, reasons the modern bourbon-whiskey drinker might be tempted by the rum world’s easy-going nature. However, the simplest argument comes down to numbers: if you could buy Pappy van Winkle for $130 right now, would you?
Bourbon whiskey’s popularity has reached the point where many coveted bottles — including Pappy, not to mention most of the Buffalo Trace lineup — are effectively unobtainable.
By contrast, rum offers more: varieties, flavors, eccentricities and, critically, availability. Step back and compare the breadth of flavor profiles in the rum world to that of bourbon — or even whiskey, bourbon’s parent category — and rum is the clear winner.
This is mostly due to one of rum’s unique traits: decentralization. Where bourbon, Scotch and spirits like tequila and cognac are, to different degrees, bound by regulation, geography and strict definitions, rum is a loose cannon.
Make it with molasses, you’ve got rum. Make it with fresh sugarcane, and you still have rum. Age it (or don’t), blend it with spices (or not), filter out the color (or add it) … it’s all rum.
With that in mind, here are the best rums for an ex-bourbon drinker to start with — from the true Pappy of rum to the Bacardi you should be drinking.
The Buffalo Trace of Rum
The Real McCoy Barbados Rum 12 Year
Origin: Barbados
ABV: 40%
Price: $61+
Reliably excellent, well-made and expertly matured, The Real McCoy 12-year-old rum is named after a famous Prohibition-era rum smuggler whose product became known as “the real McCoy” due to the number of fakes at the time.
Today, it’s sourced from the Barbados-based Foursquare Distillery, the rum producer closest to capturing the enormous pull of Buffalo Trace Distillery in the bourbon world.
The Pappy of Rum
Great House Distillery Edition Single Jamaican Rum
Origin: Jamaica
ABV: 57% (2024)
Price: $135+
Hampden Estate has been making rum on a near-continuous basis since 1779, and its Great House blend (released every year since 2019) has quickly earned a reputation for intense, rich flavor and a healthy dose of rum funk.
For longtime rum drinkers, it represents rum’s mighty potential. For former bourbon lovers, it offers a glimpse into a category not yet destroyed by hype magnets.
The “Made in USA” Rum
Privateer Rum Distiller’s Drawer
Origin: USA
ABV: Varies
Price: $70+
This top-notch rum comes from an odd place: America. By most accounts, Privateer is the best in the country — and it’s not made anywhere near the tropics, either.
Based in Massachusetts, Privateer’s Distiller’s Drawer series offers rum from barrels hand-selected by its master distiller, and they’re some of the most whiskey-like bottles in the category. Expect oak, vanilla, burnt sugar and more classic bourbon notes.
The White Dog of Rum
Clairin Casimir
Origin: Haiti
ABV: Varies
Price: ~$50
If you want to go straight to the bottom of the rabbit hole, Clairin is a good way to do it. It’s usually unaged, so it has more in common with white whiskey than bourbon proper. It’s also made with wild sugarcane and dunder, which is a bit like the sour mash of the rum world (but used far less frequently than its whiskey counterpart).
All this lends Clairin a deep funkiness that blends with the base spirit to invoke whiskey, mezcal, natural wine and rum all at once.
https://www.gearpatrol.com/drinks/best-rums-for-whiskey-lovers/