Noob's sipping rum guide

My top 5 picks for under £40 a bottle

1) Pusser's 15 Yr Old Navy Rum

Perhaps the very best rum in the world for under £40, rich and powerful with great depth of flavours. Pusser’s Rum is a blend of rums from stills located in Guyana and Trinidad. The blend is heavily influenced by century-old wooden stills, an important ingredient in “navy rum”. Each rum is hand-selected for its individual smoothness, flavor, and mellow depth— creating the perfect balance of “esters” and “congeners”. The rim is then aged for fifteen years in oak wood barrels. The full, rich flavor is all natural, no flavoring agents are added.

RPP: £40

http://pussersrum.com/


2) Ron Abuelo 12 Year Old

A good value 12 year old rum, settled and smooth, great for short cocktails as well as sipping it neat. Made with a blend of rums aged 12 years, Sublime distillation, the best selection of white oak barrels and the passing of time under the tropical heat have resulted in this extraordinary product. Its character, softness and complexity will give satisfaction to the most sophisticated and challenging palate.

RPP: £32

http://www.hi-spirits.com/

3) Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva

Extremely mellow and smooth with a good level of sweetness and oak tone. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva is an elegant and complex sipping rum, carefully crafted from the purest of sugar cane honeys. It is delicately distilled in ancient copper pot stills and aged in small oak casks for up to twelve years. Marrying a unique body with excellent balance has made it a reference for rum lovers and connoisseurs throughout the world.

RPP: £40

http://www.rondiplomatico.com/

4) Dos Maderas PX 5 5

A rather unusual rum that aged in two types of barrels. First resting for five years in the Caribbean, then for three more at the Williams & Humbert facilities in casks which have aged "Dos Cortados” (Palo Cortado), Dos Maderas 5+5 rum once finished then undergoes a third stage of ageing in butts which have previously aged "Don Guido" sherry (Pedro Ximénez) for 20 years, thus giving origin to the extraordinary Dos Maderas PX rum. Both "Don Guido“ and "Dos Cortados" have been aged for 20 years as certified by the oldest Denomination of Origin in Spain: that of Jerez-Xérès-Sherry.

RPP: £40

http://www.rondosmaderas.com/

5) Appleton Estate 12 Year Rare Blend

A mainstream yet very delicious rum, the mild smokiness and spicy notes make this a great rum to pair it with cigars. Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old is a ‘minimum age’ rum as indicated by the number 12 displayed on the bottle. The rum is aged in Number One Select American Oak barrels. A constantly evolving taste experience – you’ll find deep oak, fruity, and cocoa notes, followed by delicate molasses, vibrant orange peel, rich vanilla, subtle coffee, with a hint of toasted oak and almond.

RPP: £34

http://www.appletonestate.com/