White Rum
This is rum’s most sociable face, its most obvious manifestation as a party spirit at home in everything from a simple Cuba Libre – rum and Coke – to the most complex concoctions of modern mixology. But there’s regional character here, too – and more flavour than many people think.
The mojito, made with white rum – one of the most popular cocktails in the world
Making it big
The emergence of white rum as a mixable spirit in the second half of the 20th century secured its fortune – or rather, it secured the fortune of Bacardi, exiled from Cuba following revolution but unstoppable on its march to global superstardom, transcending the category in the process. To this day, people are just as likely to order a ‘Bacardi and Coke’ as a ‘rum and Coke’.
Bacardi – the global rum powerhouse – has its HQ located in Bermuda in The Caribbean
How is it Made
There’s a general correlation in spirits between colour and flavour, where dark equals intense and clear equals bland. Good white rum gives the lie to this notion, however, and it’s produced in more places, and by more people, than you might expect.
To take one example, the name of Flor de Caña 4-year-old gives a clue to these unexpected depths: just because a rum’s clear, it doesn’t mean it’s bottled straight off the still. Many white rums undergo a few years’ ageing, acquiring new levels of subtlety and complexity in the process.
So Cuba’s Havana Club Añejo Blanco marries smoothness to weight and punch; Santa Teresa Claro from Venezuela offers texture and body; and rhum agricole Barbancourt has a zesty, vegetal edge that refuses to be entirely subdued.
Make no mistake: these are rums which find their finest expression in a broad range of cocktails and mixed drinks, but they do so without sacrificing their own distinctive characters and provenance.
White Rum vs Dark Rum
There is a big difference between the overriding flavours of white rum and dark rum. White rum is all about freshness and vitality, whereas dark rum is noted for its power and richness. One is not better than the other; they are merely different. When it comes to cocktails, a Mojito cries out for white rum to match the clean, zingy style, whereas a Dark ‘n’ Stormy relies on the full-bodied robustness of a dark rum.
Did you know?
- Bacardi remains the rum world’s biggest brand bar none, selling well over 18m nine-litre cases in 2013
- Banks 5 Island combines rums from Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana, plus Batavia Arrack from Java, aged for 3-12 years, then filtered to remove the colour
- Wray and Nephew Overproof, dominates the Jamaican rum scene and – apart from being consumed in vast quantities – is also a popular household remedy for all manner of ills
Typical Character and Style of White Rum
Grass
Banana
Dried Fruit
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Hampden Estate Rum FireWhite Overproof
£45.25
(£64.64 per litre)
Worthy Park White Overproof Rum
£35.75
(£51.07 per litre)
Diplomatico Planas
£33.75
(£48.21 per litre)
Rum-Bar Overproof White Rum
£34.75
(£49.64 per litre)
Green Island Superior Light Rum
£26.50
(£37.86 per litre)
Flor de Cana 4 Extra Dry Rum
£25.95
(£37.07 per litre)
Kingston 62 White Rum
£21.25
(£30.36 per litre)
Veritas White Rum
£38.25
(£54.64 per litre)
Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum
£33.50
(£47.86 per litre)
Saint James Imperial Blanc Rum
£23.50
(£33.57 per litre)
El Dorado 3 Year Old White Rum
£26.25
(£37.50 per litre)
Morvenna White Rum
£32.50
(£46.43 per litre)
Barbancourt Estate Haitian Proof Blanc Rum
£33.50
(£47.86 per litre)
Captain Morgan White Rum
£19.75
(£28.21 per litre)
Clairin Sajous 2021 Rum
£55.95
(£79.93 per litre)
Doorly's 3 Year Old White RumOverproof
£34.25
(£48.93 per litre)
Rhum St Barth Agricole Blanc
£40.25
(£57.50 per litre)
Spotted Skunk Organic Rum
£48.75
(£97.50 per litre)
Trois Rivieres Blanc Rum
£41.50
(£59.29 per litre)
Papagayo Organic White Rum
£24.75
(£35.36 per litre)
Takamaka Overproof Rum
£40.25
(£57.50 per litre)
Rhum Rhum PMGMarie Galante 56%
£77.75
(£111.07 per litre)
Clairin Casimir 2018 (49.5%)
£55.75
(£79.64 per litre)
Rum-Bar Silver Rum
£23.75
(£33.93 per litre)