Sip and Savor

Fine Aged Rums That Deserve More Than a Cocktail

By Kevin Revolinski

ANY OLD RUM MIGHT BE FINE FOR A FRUITY SUMMER cocktail, but some rums are like fine whiskey: You really want to think twice about mixing them.

Such sipping rums are aged and often blended from rums aged for different lengths of time or in different conditions, taking on great character. Use a snifter, let them breathe for a few minutes, and add a couple drops of water to really open them up.

As with other fine aged products, the sky’s the limit on prices for limited varieties, but these six are excellent while not hitting your wallet with triple digits.

Dos Maderas PX 5 + 5

A fascinating process: Light, refined rums from Barbados and full-bodied rums from Guyana are each aged in repurposed bourbon casks in the Caribbean for five years and carefully blended to be aged five more years in sherry casks in Spain.

Let it breathe a bit, and the aroma is sweet vanilla. The first taste is sweet, and the dried fruit of sherry rises in for a pleasant finish. $36.99 AT TOTALWINE.CO

Mount Gay XO Triple Cask

Founded in Barbados in 1703, this is the oldest operating rum distillery in the Americas. The rums blended here are aged in cognac, American whiskey, and bourbon casks. Expect a spicy aroma with oak, vanilla, and a faint whiff of whiskey. While dry, the palate offers the tiniest hint of sweetness, though no sugar is added, plus notes of molasses and oak, and a rising heat from the slightly greater alcohol level (43 percent). Whiskey lovers take note of this one. $65.99 AT FLAVIAR.COM

Matusalem Gran Reserva 15

A pioneer in solera aging, the distillery was founded in Cuba in 1872. This recipe is really the granddaddy of sipping rums, though now it’s made in the Dominican Republic. A touch of sugar (about 4.3 grams in a 750-milliliter bottle) and caramel notes round out the wood and buttery taste. One of the more affordable options as well. $29.99 AT TOTALWINE.COM

Don Q Gran Reserva Añejo XO

This smooth premium blend from the family-owned Destilería Serrallés in Puerto Rico (since 1865) combines rums 9 to 12 years old, aged in American white oak barrels, with solera rums (a mix of rums up to 50 years old). A sweet oakiness comes through on the nose, but it’s a dry rum, mellow on the palate with hints of roasted nuts and baked apples. $53.99 AT TOTALWINE.COM

Flor de Caña 18

Sustainably produced and fairtrade, Flor de Caña is the pride of Nicaragua. With no added sugar or colorings, their finest expression is aged in bourbon barrels and offers aromas of caramel and nuts, a palate that delivers vanilla, butterscotch, and spices, and a smooth finish. $65.99 AT TOTALWINE.COM