Best sipping rums: Top picks for summer enjoyment

Now this is a first: a rum distilled and distributed right here on British soil.

Fermented from 100 per cent pure sugar cane molasses, as opposed to the syrup used in most mainstream rums, Old Salt Rum serves up the kind of richness and depth you’d expect of its base ingredient, while triple-distilling and oak-ageing the gloriously golden liquid makes it deliciously smooth and a little too drinkable.

Flavour-wise, you can expect treacle on the nose and cracked caramel, tobacco, banoffee pie, oak and Christmas cake on the palate, making this a real treat for the senses. The name? A red herring.

Confusingly, there’s no salt, just sweet, sweet nectar.

We love a spirit with a story and this ocean-aged bottle is a case in point. The rums used to make Goslings Spirited Seas – dark, aged and Bermudan – are loaded onto a ship after being initially aged in first-fill Bourbon barrels with the liquid aged for another year at sea while it travels back and forth between its native island and New Jersey (covering nearly 60,000 miles over more than 40 weeks).

According to the maker, the stormy waters and sea air has an extraordinary effect on the blend, helping it interact with the charred American white oak over every wave to extract all of the barrel’s flavour and impart a unique maritime influence.

The result? An elegant and complex rum with an oaky, caramel nose and hints of rich toffee, dark chocolate, roasted coffee and cinnamon spice with a silky-smooth finish. Down the hatch.

Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange, this round and rich Caribbean rum from Foursquare serves up the signature intensity the distiller has become synonymous with, which means it doesn’t need anything but a good glass and perhaps a couple of ice-cubes as accompaniments.

It combines pot- and column-distilled rums that are matured in both ex-Bourbon and sherry casks for 12 years in the tropical heat of Barbados. As a result, you can expect plenty of caramelised brown sugar, baked apple, roasted chestnuts, black tea and leather on the palette.

A good alternative for those who like a sherry-aged whisky or rich old Cognac.

Distilled and matured on the Caribbean island of Barbados, this refined rum serves up a rich and warming profile that simply begs to be savoured by itself rather than simply mixed into a sugary cocktail.

It’s a single traditional blended spirit that’s made from molasses and aged for eight years to deliver maximum flavour. From tropical fruit and orange zest to indulgent toffee and sweet vanilla, there are plenty of characterful notes to enjoy in every mouthful, while warming spices of cinnamon and nutmeg create a well-rounded finish.

Don’t be fooled by the name: English Harbour Reserve 10 Year Old is, in fact, named after a town on the island of Antigua, which is where this mellow rum is made.

The perfect entry-level spirit for those transitioning from whisky, it’s from molasses and matured in ex-Bourbon barrels for at least 10 years.

Expect smoky, oaky, butterscotch flavours beautifully balanced with citrus, dried fruits, vanilla and burnt sugar. The aromas are just as enticing: smoked, fudge, cigars and espresso.

Named after the iconic female pirate, this Caribbean rum is unapologetically bold – just like its strong female lead – and combines a blend of Jamaican, Dominican Republic and Island of La Réunion rums.

Aged for between one to three years with some having spent time in French oak barrels, the characterful rums are combined to serve up irresistibly smooth and complex flavours of creamy vanilla pastry, caramel and pralines with a subtle spiced oak finish.

Crafted in Devon by a B Corp distiller, Hattiers Egremont Premium Reserve Rum is fragrant, medium-bodied and complex – perfect for enjoying neat. It’s a blend of four cask-aged rums that are cherry-picked from across the Caribbean and Central America before being combined with soft spring water from the hills of Dartmoor to balance the booze. Expect distinctive aromas of caramel, toffee, cacao, fruit and cream with flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and apricot. Fabulously fruity and oh-so luxurious.

Billed as ‘the whisky-drinker’s rum’, this particularly dark spirit is made from a seriously rich blend of Guyanese and Jamaican rums to deliver aromas of oily walnuts, rich molasses, dark chocolate and spicy nutmeg with flavours of wood spice, sweet tomato and roasted apricot.

While it’s undeniably good in a signature mai-tai cocktail, we prefer it poured into a crystal tumbler and enjoyed by itself with nothing but a good sunset as an accompaniment.

Worth every penny, this new high-end rum – launched in March – is aged for six years in a single bourbon cask in Jamaica’s tropical climate to serve up a well-balanced spirit with aromas of toasted coconut, fudge and vanilla.

Bold and funky, it’s got buttery vanilla, coconut and soft spices on the palette with notes of grilled pineapple and overripe banana.

A venture between three entrepreneurial siblings, Karisimbi Spiced Rum is a vibrant and juicy spirit made from a blend of rums sourced from Barbados, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. It’s richly-spiced with blood orange, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla to create a signature flavour that should see this bottle fly off the shelves. Although it’s designed to be mixed, we rather liked this by itself, the dry and spicy ginger, cinnamon and zesty orange making for a warming nightcap.

Made in the heart of the English countryside using custom copper pot stills and distilled in small batches from molasses with oak added for extra richness and complexity, Vapoura Rum – named after a moth native to the UK – is a sweet and versatile spirit for sipping and savouring (although it’s absolutely banging in a killer espresso martini, too).

Warm and refined, it’s characterised by flavours of nutmeg, blood orange, vanilla, pink peppercorns and cardamom to create a balanced profile. Lipsmackingly good with a beautiful bottle to boot.

Bringing together rums from Ghana, Vietnam and the Philippines – yes, really – Elizabeth Yard Sherry Cask Edition is refined in sherry casks, as the name suggests, to create a spirit that’s characterised by rich tropical notes, luxurious depth and lingering warmth. The bottle is of particular note, inspired by an original Navy rum flagon, while the vibrant pattern takes its design cues from a motif invented for, and applied to, naval ships as a unique form of camouflage. Flavour-wise, it’s all about treacle and marzipan with demerara sugar and candy floss. Classic sherry notes of raisin and spice rounds things off rather nicely.