The best light rums: 12 to try
Though it’s the lightest style of rum, this spirit punches well above its weight when it comes to mixing up classic cocktails. Julie Sheppard shares a dozen top-notch bottles to stock in your home bar.
Rum is a sunshine spirit. Just saying the word ‘rum’ makes me think of holidays: enjoying tropical cocktails at a beach bar or mixing up a fruity rum punch for summer parties.
Sun is crucial for rum production too. It’s made from sugar cane, which can only be grown in warm tropical and subtropical climates. Look along the equator on a map – between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn – and you’ll find top rum-producing countries. From Venezuela and Guyana in South America, to Barbados and Jamaica in the Caribbean, across to India and the Philippines.
By using imported molasses and sugar cane syrup, rum can actually be made all around the world. Recently the British rum scene has taken off, with distillers in England and Scotland using their experience of gin and whisky production to create small-batch rums with a distinctive character. Look out for names such as DropWorks, Scratch Rums and Two Drifters.
How is light rum made?
To make rum, the sugarcane juice or molasses are fermented and then distilled. After distillation this sunshine spirit can take a darker turn though, dividing into light and dark styles depending on whether it is aged or not.
Light rum – also known as white, silver or carta blanca – is, as the name suggests, the lightest style of rum. Light rums are either unaged or lightly aged in oak barrels and then filtered. The filtration removes any colour that has been imparted to the spirit from the oak, and also some of the heavier oaky flavours. It means you get a white rum with more complexity.
How to drink light rum
Either way, the result is a lighter taste profile than dark rum, with freshness to balance rum’s naturally sweeter notes. As a result light rum is a versatile spirit that can be enjoyed in simple serves with a mixer – think cola, ginger beer or pineapple juice – and plenty of ice.
It also forms the base of several classic cocktails, including the Mojito, the Daiquiri, Cuba Libre, Mary Pickford and Piña Colada. Light rum is combined with dark rum and fruit juices to create the tropical Hurricane. While other cocktails such as the Mai Tai can be made with light or dark rum.
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If you are keen to mix up your own, why not try these rum cocktails to make at home?
But which light rums should you be using? Here are a few of my favourites, with tips on how to enjoy them.
The best light rums: 12 to try
Bacardí Carta Blanca
Bacardí is the original Daiquiri rum. The classic cocktail is named after the Cuban town where American engineer Jennings Cox first combined Carta Blanca, lime juice and sugar in 1898. Although Bacardi was founded in Cuba in 1862, its rums are now made in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Carta Blanca has sweet tropical aromas with banana and coconut and a touch of peppery spice, leading to a light, creamy palate with notes of tropical fruit, and a vanilla toffee edge. Lingering spiciness on the finish. A good value choice for cocktails and punches. Alcohol 37.5%
Diplomático Planas
Aged for six years in barrels and charcoal-filtered for clarity, this delicious Venezuelan rum delivers the best of both worlds. It offers the rich depth of a dark rum – think toffee, warm spice and creamy vanilla – balanced with the brightness of a white rum, including fresh grassy tones. Layers of coconut, zesty lemon, green chilli and vibrant tropical and stone fruits add further interest. Silky and smooth, it’s perfect over ice or as a refined twist in a classic Daiquiri. Alc 47%
Don Q Cristal
Made in Puerto Rico by the Serrallés family, which established its distillery back in 1865. Don Q is named after Don Quixote, protagonist in the classic Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes, which was a favourite family read. This light rum spends 18 months in American oak and is then carbon filtered. It’s a fruity little number: I love using it in rum punches. Expect lively notes of pineapple, citrus and banana, with gentle spice hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Alc 40%
DropWorks Funk Drop Rum
Founded in 2023 by rum expert Lewis Hayes, DropWorks in Nottingham is one of the UK’s newest rum producers, flying a flag for British rums. Made from imported molasses, Funk Drop is triple-distilled in England’s first double retort still. Production techniques used by Jamaican distillers to create their distinctive high-ester rums give a full-on, funky spirit with explosive tropical notes of roasted pineapple, ripe guava and coconut, plus earthier spice tones and an oily, mouthcoating texture. Try it in a Hurricane. Alc 63%
El Dorado 3 Year Old
El Dorado is a range of demerara rums made in Guyana. The Diamond Distillery is located on the banks of the Demerara River, just six degrees away from the equator in South America. This is the youngest rum in the range, which is better known for its aged expressions, including 5-, 8-, 12-, 15- and 21-year-old rums. It spends three years in cask and is charcoal-filtered. There’s an appealing nutty-toffee-brown sugar character alongside coconut, light spice and grassy notes. Try it in a Cuba Libre with cola and lime. Alc 40%
Equiano Light
The world’s first Afro-Caribbean rum is a blend of fresh unaged sugar cane juice rum from Grays Distillery in Mauritius and three-year-old molasses rum from Foursquare distillery in Barbados. It’s named in honour of Olaudah Equiano, a freed slave and a prominent abolitionist in the 18th century. A percentage of company profits goes to the charitable Equiano Rum Co Foundation, currently supporting Anti-Slavery International. A very light and subtle palate, with lovely freshness. Carries its alcohol lightly. Grassy, creamy, with vanilla, and a spicy note on the finish. Alc 43%
Havana Club Original Añejo 3 Años
The leading Cuban rum brand, Havana Club’s light rum is aged in ex-bourbon casks for three years and then filtered to remove the colour. Sweet and fresh aromas, with tropical fruit notes – lots of pineapple, mango, banana and some fudge. The palate is grassy and spicy, with a refreshing fruitiness and honeyed sweetness. Pineapple, green apple, plus vanilla and lemon bonbons. A touch of the florality on the finish, plus lots of green chilli spice and some toffee. Perfect for the classic Cuban cocktail, a Mojito. Alc 40%
J Wray & Nephew Wray’s 43 Full Proof Rum
This new release from historic Jamaican distiller J Wray & Nephew, founded in Kingston in 1825, is a lighter take on its iconic Overproof bottling, which comes in at 63% abv. A blend of unaged Jamaica white rums, its rich and fruity, with a real punch of flavour: think fresh grassiness, charred pineapple, lemon and lime citrus, vanilla and cream soda. Enjoy it in long drinks,with mixers such as ginger ale, pineapple juice or coconut water. Alc 43%
Planteray 3 Stars
The three stars are Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad: top sites for rum production in the Caribbean. This engaging blend mixes unaged spirits from Barbados and Jamaica with two- to three-year-old spirit from Trinidad, then adds a dash of Jamaican 10-year-old for good measure. A bartender favourite, 3 Stars is crisp and fresh, with plenty of spice and a grassy, almost agave-like note on the palate that’s balanced by honeyed sweetness and a creamy custard note. Great choice for Daiquiris. Alc 41.2%
Rhum JM White
This is an agricole, a distinctive style of rum made from sugarcane (rather than molasses) that’s typical to the French-speaking islands of the Caribbean – in this case Martinique, where the style was invented – hence it’s labelled rhum. Agricoles have a trademark grassy character, which you’ll find here alongside bright lime citrus, floral and tropical notes, plus white pepper spice. Try it in a Mary Pickford with pineapple juice, grenadine and maraschino liqueur. Alc 50%
Ron Santiago de Cuba Carta Blanca
Crafted from Cuban molasses and matured for three years in white oak barrels before filtration, this rum offers a bright, grassy aroma layered with hints of banana, tropical fruit, and a touch of fudge. On the palate, it’s smooth and creamy, revealing notes of banana toffee, vanilla, and gentle spice, all balanced by a fresh green character. Well-rounded and an ideal choice for cocktails – especially a crisp, minty Mojito. Alc 38%
Veritas White Rum
Two of rum’s most respected names have joined forces to make this versatile light mixing rum. A blend of pot-still spirit from Hampden in Jamaica and column-still rum from Foursquare in Barbados, Veritas kicks off with notes of banana caramel, pineapple and vanilla. Smooth palate with pineapple and pineapple leaf, fresh banana, pear and a touch of butterscotch. One of my favourite rums for a Daiquiri. Alc 47%
Related content:
Best rums for summer: 10 to try
Best rums for a Mai Tai
Best dark rums: 12 to try
Julie Sheppard joined the Decanter team in 2018 and is Regional Editor for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa & Spirits Editor.
Before Decanter, she worked for a range of drinks and food titles, including as managing editor of both Imbibe and Square Meal, associate publisher of The Drinks Business, senior editor of the Octopus Publishing Group and Supplements editor of Harpers Wine & Spirit. As a contributor, she has over 20 years’ experience writing about food, drink and travel for a wide range of publications, including Condé Nast Traveller, Delicious, Waitrose Kitchen, Waitrose Drinks, Time Out and national newspapers including The Telegraph and The Sunday Times.
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