I tasted all the supermarket rums – a great value winner was full of character and perfect for cocktails
SALES of rum are booming.
We are now drinking more of the sugarcane spirit than whisky thanks to numerous versions flooding on to the UK market, with sales topping the £1billion mark.
Here, The Thinking Drinkers, two of the UK’s leading experts, run the rule over a range of rums that won’t cost an arm and a leg (or, as the pirates would say, a hook and a peg).
Giving each a score out of five, Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham reveal which rums are yo-ho-ho and which should be given the old heave-ho.
Below, they share three rum cocktail recipes.
- The Thinking Drinkers are also comedians. They are touring their comedy tasting show, The Booze-ical, across the UK. See www.thinkingdrinkers.com for more.
Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold, 35%, £15, Asda
IF you’re going to drink like a pirate, you need a rum that’s named after one.
Sir Henry Morgan, more of an English government-backed privateer than a pirate, was a cunning, moustache-twiddling naval ace who raided Spanish ships in the Caribbean.
Smooth and spicy with m’hearty dose of vanilla, apricot, honey and banoffee pie, this makes a marvellous “mint cooler” when mixed with lemonade, mint and ice.
SCORE: 4/5
Mount Gay Eclipse Barbados Rum, 40%, £21.50, Amazon
MOUNT Gay, founded in 1703 on the island of Barbados, is regarded by many as the true birthplace of rum – and this easy- going, fragrant all-rounder is its best-seller.
A classic Caribbean golden rum, it’s perfect for punches and party drinks.
When we popped our noses into the glass, we got honey with vanilla, banana, toffee apple and apricot.
A burst of brown sugar on the first sip, then caramel, spice and butterscotch.
SCORE: 4/5
Havana Club Three-Year-Old, 40%, £15, Asda
EACH Caribbean island is known for its own style of rum, with Cuba being famous for a sweeter spirit.
During 1920s Prohibition, drinkers headed for Havana and made Cuba the cocktail capital of the world – giving rise to the classic daiquiri and mojito tipples.
The smooth Havana Club Three-Year-Old made in Cuba performed brilliantly in both cocktails, furnishing them with sugarcane character, citrus and vanilla.
Great value.
SCORE: 4/5
Bacardi Caribbean Spiced Rum 40%, £22, Tesco
IN the 1960s, the Bacardis – the world’s most famous rum-making family – left Cuba and started making their famous drink in Puerto Rico, the birthplace of Roberto Cofresi, considered the last true Pirate of the Caribbean.
He may have invented the pina colada when he served his weary crew a mix of pineapple, coconut and white rum.
This barrel-aged treat is perfect for it, with hints of spice, coconut and pineapple.
SCORE: 3/5
Duppy Share Caribbean Rum, 40%, £22.50, Morrisons
THE “angel’s share” is the name given to the whisky that evaporates from the barrels during maturation.
The duppy share is rum’s version of this, named after the duppy, or cheeky ghosts, who, legend has it, cruise the Caribbean stealing rum from casks.
This blend from two distinguished distilleries in Jamaica and Barbados punches above its price point.
Deliciously rich, there’s nuttiness alongside vanilla, pumpkin, clove and caramel.
SCORE: 4/5
Old Hopking Mango & Pineapple, 25%, £11.85, Aldi
IT looks like Irn-Bru, tastes like a liquor-laced Lilt and, at 25% ABV, can’t call itself rum.
In fact, connoisseurs would make it walk the plank.
But sweeter than a kitten in a tuxedo, it’s a fun and fruity tropical tipple to enjoy in flip-flops rather than a leather armchair staring into a roaring fire.
One for fruity rum punches and kitsch cocktails.
SCORE: 2/5
Ron Rumbero Cuban Rum, 38%, £17, Lidl
AFTER wrapping our laughing gear around two Lidl own-label rums, we narrowly preferred this dark golden Cuban drop over the James Cook white rum.
But don’t be fooled by the deep colour – there’s no depth of flavour here.
It’s weaker than classic rums at 38% ABV.
Thin and lightweight on the palate, it’s sweet and syrupy with a flat finish.
Sadly disappointing.
SCORE: 2/5
Trash & Treasure Tropical Rum, 37.5%, £26, Tesco
WE really liked this – a totally tropical British rum that transforms waste into taste by distilling with discarded pineapple and mango peels.
Blended with passion fruit and coconut husks, it’s not too sweet, with a volcano of vanilla aromas erupting on the nose and waves of juicy mango, sugar-dusted grapefruit and fresh pineapple crashing on the palate.
It’s an ethical option, too, having been B-Corp certified.
SCORE: 4/5
Appleton Estate Signature Rum, 40%, £25.25, Amazon
DISTILLING in Jamaica since 1749, Appleton Estate is famous for its characterful and complex pot-still rums, and this blend – aged for an average of four years – is a fabulous choice at this price.
Matured in small casks before being blended in oak, it is silky-smooth, rich and full, with sticky toffee pud, pineapple and a bit of orange-y funk.
Lovely stuff.
SCORE: 4/5
Special Non-Alcoholic Dark Spiced Drink, 0%, £10, Asda
NOT all pirates drank alcohol.
One of the most famous was Bartholomew Roberts, a teetotal Welshman who captured 400 ships in his cut-throat career.
So, in his honour, we poured ourselves this non-alcoholic spirit made from a blend of Jamaican quassia wood, vanilla and mango.
Blow me down and shiver me timbers!
It was better than we thought it would be.
Cinnamon, treacle, toffee and a sweet finish.
SCORE: 3/5
Up your cocktail game…
Pina Colada
AFTER a hard day nailing his victims to the deck, pirate Roberto Cofresi would kick back with this kitsch cocktail made with rum, pineapple and coconut.
You need:
- 50ml white rum
- 75ml pineapple juice
- 25ml cream of coconut
- 25ml single cream
Method: Blend all the ingredients with 300ml of cracked ice, pour into the glass and garnish with a pineapple chunk and a cherry.
Mojito
LEGEND has it the mojito was first served by buccaneering seafarer Sir Francis Drake who, after giving the Spanish a proper spanking, revived his crew with a mixture of rum, lime – which kept scurvy at bay – and sugar.
You need:
- 50ml white rum
- 15ml fresh lime
- 8-10 mint leaves
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- Dash of soda water
Method: Slap mint leaves, rub around the edge of a glass, tear and drop in.
Add freshly squeezed lime, sugar and half fill with crushed ice.
Mix with a spoon to dissolve the sugar.
Fill with crushed ice.
Pour in the rum, a splash of soda water and mix with a bar spoon.
Garnish: A sprig of fresh mint.
Cuba Libre
THIS Cuban classic is an incredibly simple rum drink that does not require a shaker.
You can even swap the Coca-Cola for ginger beer to make a Dark ’n Stormy – traditionally made with Goslings Black Seal rum.
You need:
- 50ml rum
- 15ml lime juice
- 100ml Coca-Cola
Method: Pour the ingredients into a tall glass filled with ice cubes and garnish with a lime wedge.