The Best White Rum

Rhum J.M. Agricole Blanc — Photo: Courtesy of SPIRIBAM

In the world of important spirits for your liquor cabinet, white rum might not strike you as the highest priority — not when there's gin and bourbon out there. But rum is key for so many classic drinks, from the Daiquiri to the summer-friendly Mojito to the simple Cuba Libre. Here are some of the best white rum bottles you need to know.

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Flor de Caña Extra Dry 4 Year

While many white spirits are unaged, most white rums do spend time in a barrel — and then have their color stripped out. This beautiful Nicaraguan rum spends four whole years in oak; the flavor is dry and a little toasty, with hints of fruit and vanilla but not sweet in the slightest. ($24 at flaviar.com) Try it: in a Piña Colada.

Get the Recipe: Fresh and Easy Piña Coladas

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Banks 5 Island Rum

While rums from different nations tend to have distinct styles, the Banks 5 Island blends spirit from (you guessed it) five countries: Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, and Java. Each of these rums has been aged between three and five years. The resulting rum is extremely complex with a real weight to it — ideal in cocktails. ($42 at reservebar.com) Try it: in a classic Daiquiri.

Get the Recipe: Strawberry Daiquiri

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Brugal Especial Extra Dry

Many bartenders pledge their allegiance to this Dominican white rum, using it both in their well and craft cocktails. Aged as long as the Brugal añejo rum (between two and five years), it's triple-filtered to remove the color, leaving behind a spirit that's as smooth as it gets. ($20 at totalwine.com) Try it: in a pleasantly dry Mojito.

Get the Recipe: City Grocery Mojitos

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Mount Gay Silver Rum

This Barbadian producer, the oldest in the Western Hemisphere, is better known for its golden Eclipse rum. But the Silver, made from both pot and column-still rum and then triple-filtered, is tasty and versatile, whether you're using it to spike a cola or in more elaborate cocktails. ($150 at caskcartel.com) Try it: in a Cuba Libre.

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Caña Brava

Developed by the 86 Company, producing spirits intended for bartenders, Caña Brava is, unsurprisingly, quite popular among the cocktail set — a Panamanian rum modeled after the crisp, clear, classic Cuban style that can be hard to find in the States. ($43 at totalwine.com) Try it: in a Hemingway Daiquiri.

Get the Recipe: Hemingway Daiquiri

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El Dorado 3 Year

This Guyanese rum from a centuries-old distillery is a screaming value, rich and creamy with fragrant hints of vanilla, citrus, and coconut. ($20 at drizly.com) Try it: in a classic Daiquiri.

Get the Recipe: Classic Daiquiri

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Havana Club 3 Year

This classic Cuban rum used to be a prime duty-free find and is only recently available in the contiguous states after that whole embargo thing (lifted in 2016). Crisp and light as they come, it's the ideal choice for Mojitos, Daiquiris, and anything else Cuban-inspired. ($19 at totalwine.com) Try it: in any classic Cuban cocktail.

Get the Recipe: Canchánchara Cocktail

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Plantation 3 Star White Rum

Another great value, Plantation blends rums from three islands (young rum from Barbados, 2-3 year rum from Trinidad, and older rums from Jamaica). Created by Maison Ferrand, the famed Cognac house, there's a true finesse to the blend. Complex, light-bodied, a little grassy. ($29 at totalwine.com) Try it: with soda water and lime.

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Denizen Rum

Sourced from the Caribbean, then blended in Amsterdam, Denizen is a carefully designed aged white rum — column-distilled Trinidadian rum from the celebrated Angostura distillery, along with 15 types of Jamaican pot-still rum. It's got a real hint of fruit and funk from the latter, far more so than most rums in this category — a quality that many rum fans prize. ($21 at reservebar.com) Try it: on the rocks.

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Wray and Nephew Overproof Rum

Utterly unlike any bottle on this list, Wray and Nephew is formidable — up at 126 proof, nearly double the strength of most spirits. But it's a classic and beautifully made Jamaican rum, and a key player in many tiki cocktails. It's funky, unpredictable, powerful, and a splash of it enlivens many a drink. ($28 at wine.com) Try it: in rum punches.

Get the Recipe: Rum Punch

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Rhum J.M. Agricole Blanc

Rum, by definition, is made from sugar. Most rums, including just about every rum the casual drinker would be familiar with, is made from fermented molasses, a sugar byproduct. But the spirit known as rhum agricole is distilled from sugarcane juice, and as a result, it's a whole different animal — extremely fruity, funky, and wild-tasting in a way nearly unique among spirits. If you're used to the Bacardi style, it might be off-putting, but for spirits nerds, this Martinique rhum is where it's at. ($40 at wine.com) Try it: in this punch.

Get the Recipe: Ti' Punch

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