Rum
All spirits start with a plant, and rum starts with a species of grass: sugarcane.
Sugarcane originated in the Asia-Pacific region and was domesticated thousands of years ago. Over centuries, it traveled west through Asia and the Middle East and eventually into Europe. By the 1400s, Europeans had developed quite a sweet tooth for sugar, sometimes called “white gold.”
There was just one problem: growing, harvesting, and processing sugarcane required enormous amounts of labor.
The Portuguese established sugar plantations on Atlantic islands such as Madeira, relying increasingly on enslaved African labor. After Europeans reached the Americas, they carried sugarcane across the Atlantic and successfully cultivated it in the Caribbean.
By the 1500s and 1600s, sugar plantations spread through the Caribbean and Brazil. The industry's growth became inseparable from the transatlantic slave trade, with millions of enslaved Africans forced to work on sugar plantations under brutal conditions.
Sugar was extraordinarily profitable.
And sugar had a by-product: molasses.
Eventually someone figured out that fermenting and distilling sugarcane products produced something considerably more entertaining than another spoonful of sugar.
Rum.
The exact birthplace of rum is debated, but recognizable rum production was well established in the Caribbean by the 1600s, with Barbados playing an especially important role.
Early rum had a reputation for being rough stuff.
Over time, improvements in fermentation, distillation, filtration, blending, and barrel aging transformed it into the enormously varied spirit we know today.
Rum became an important commodity throughout the Atlantic world. It was consumed by sailors, traded internationally, produced in the Caribbean and New England, and unfortunately became intertwined with the economic systems of slavery and colonialism.
Rum Goes to Sea
Rum became famously associated with the British Royal Navy.
Beginning in the 17th century, spirits were routinely issued to sailors, and rum eventually became the standard ration. In 1740, Admiral Edward Vernon ordered sailors' rum diluted with water, creating the drink known as grog.
The daily rum ration survived astonishingly long.
The Royal Navy finally abolished it on July 31, 1970, a day sailors remember as Black Tot Day.
By then, operating radar, aircraft, missiles, and other sophisticated equipment after your lunchtime rum was beginning to seem like a questionable workplace policy.
Rum in America
Rum was also enormously important in colonial America.
New England developed a thriving rum industry using molasses imported from Caribbean sugar plantations. Distilleries appeared in places such as Boston and Newport, and New England rum became an important commercial product.
Rum even found its way into politics.
When George Washington ran for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758, his campaign supplied voters with a considerable quantity of alcohol, including rum punch, wine, beer, and cider.
He won.
Apparently, campaigning on the issues included making sure nobody's cup was empty.
The Rum Hospital
In 1810, Governor Lachlan Macquarie needed a new hospital for Sydney, Australia, but the colonial government didn't have the money to build it.
A group of businessmen agreed to finance construction in exchange for valuable rights to import and sell rum and other spirits.
The resulting complex became known as the Rum Hospital.
It may be one of history's few hospitals essentially financed by happy hour.
Bacardi Changes Rum
In 1862, Don Facundo Bacardí Massó purchased a small distillery in Santiago de Cuba and began producing a lighter, smoother style of rum.
He experimented with yeast, aging, blending, and charcoal filtration—techniques that helped transform the character of Cuban rum and influenced the lighter style of rum that became popular around the world.
Bacardi eventually expanded beyond Cuba, establishing operations in Mexico and Puerto Rico. After the Cuban Revolution, the company's Cuban assets were confiscated in 1960.
Today, Casa Bacardí in Cataño, Puerto Rico, is the world's largest premium rum distillery.
And that little bat on the bottle?
Don Facundo's wife, Doña Amalia, suggested it after bats were discovered in the original distillery.
In Spanish culture, they represented health, family unity, and good fortune.
Apparently, the branding department arrived with wings.
The Top Things to Know About Rum
Rum can be made anywhere.
Although rum is inseparable from Caribbean history and culture, it is now produced around the world—from Australia and India to the Philippines, Japan, the United States, and beyond.
Rum is made from sugarcane.
Rum is produced by fermenting and distilling sugarcane-derived material—most commonly molasses, but also fresh sugarcane juice or sugarcane syrup.
And no, rum isn't simply distilled granulated sugar.
Molasses helped create the rum industry.
Sugar production generated large quantities of molasses. What had once been a troublesome by-product became valuable when producers discovered it could be fermented and distilled.
One industry's leftovers became another industry's happy hour.
No one knows for certain where the word “rum” came from.
There are several theories, but no universally accepted origin.
One theory connects it to the old English word rumbullion, meaning an uproar or commotion.
If true, that's an unusually accurate product description.
Bacardi started in Cuba—not Puerto Rico.
Don Facundo Bacardí Massó established Bacardi in Santiago de Cuba in 1862. Bacardi later expanded into Puerto Rico, where its enormous Cataño facility operates today.
The British Royal Navy served a daily rum ration until 1970.
The final daily ration was issued on July 31, 1970—Black Tot Day.
Think about that.
Man had already walked on the moon, and British sailors were still being issued rum at work.
Mount Gay is the world's oldest continuously operating rum distillery.
The Barbados distillery traces its documented history to a deed dated 1703 and is still producing rum today.
More than 320 years in business.
Now that's customer retention.
“Rum and Coca-Cola” was a monster hit.
The Andrews Sisters' 1945 recording became one of the biggest songs of its era. The song originated in Trinidad and helped spread the already-famous rum-and-cola combination even further into American popular culture.
Rum gave us some of the world's most famous cocktails.
The list includes the Daiquiri, Mojito, Mai Tai, Piña Colada, Cuba Libre, Hurricane, Zombie, Planter's Punch, Dark 'n Stormy, Rum Punch, and Hot Buttered Rum.
Rum has range.
Brazil remains the world's largest producer of sugarcane.
Brazil produces hundreds of millions of tons of sugarcane annually, much of it destined for sugar and ethanol production.
Types of Rum
White / Light Rum
White rum is generally clear and often lighter in flavor, although “clear” does not necessarily mean unaged.
Many white rums are barrel-aged and then charcoal-filtered to remove much of the color while retaining flavors developed during maturation.
Bacardi famously helped popularize this lighter Cuban style.
White rum is commonly used in drinks such as the Daiquiri, Mojito, and Piña Colada.
Gold / Amber Rum
Gold or amber rum generally gets its color and flavor from barrel aging, although caramel coloring may also be permitted depending on where and how the rum is produced.
These rums tend to have more noticeable vanilla, oak, caramel, and spice characteristics than many white rums.
Dark Rum
“Dark rum” is primarily a description of appearance and style—not a guarantee that the rum is older.
Dark rums may develop color through extended barrel aging, heavier production styles, blending, or permitted coloring.
They often offer richer flavors such as molasses, caramel, spice, dried fruit, and oak.
Aged Rum
Aged rum spends time maturing in wooden barrels.
You'll often see Spanish terms such as añejo, meaning “aged,” on bottles.
But rum aging laws differ dramatically from country to country, and an age statement doesn't necessarily work the same way everywhere.
Good aged rum can absolutely be enjoyed neat like whiskey, Cognac, or other mature spirits.
Spiced Rum
Spiced rum is flavored with spices and other botanicals.
Common flavors include vanilla, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, citrus peel, and other ingredients.
Captain Morgan helped make the category enormously popular, but today's spiced-rum world extends far beyond one pirate with his foot on a barrel.
Flavored Rum
Flavored rum is made with added flavors such as coconut, pineapple, mango, banana, lime, raspberry, and other fruits or flavorings.
If a tropical fruit exists, somebody has probably tried putting it in rum.
Overproof Rum
Overproof rum is bottled at a higher alcohol strength than standard rum.
Rhum Agricole
Rhum agricole is a distinctive style made from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses and is especially associated with the French Caribbean.
But I'd change your old definition that says rhum simply means rum made from fresh sugarcane juice.
The terminology is more specific than that. Rhum agricole refers to an established production tradition with legal definitions in certain places—most famously Martinique.
Agricole rums tend to showcase grassy, vegetal, earthy, fruity, and sometimes funky sugarcane flavors.
More to Know About Rum
Cachaça
Brazil's famous sugarcane spirit is cachaça (ka-SHAH-suh).
Like rhum agricole, it is produced from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses.
However, cachaça isn't simply “Brazilian rum.”
Under Brazilian law, it is its own legally defined spirit produced in Brazil, with its own production requirements.
Its most famous cocktail is the Caipirinha.
Cachaça + lime + sugar.
Brazil decided three ingredients were plenty.
Rum vs. Rhum
Rum is the broad English-language term.
Rhum is simply the French word for rum and appears on products from French-speaking regions.
Rhum agricole specifically identifies the fresh-cane-juice style associated with the French Caribbean.
So seeing rhum on a bottle does not automatically mean it's agricole.
Molasses Rum vs. Cane-Juice Rum
One of the most useful ways to understand rum is by what was fermented.
Molasses rum begins with the thick syrup remaining after sugar production and represents most rum made around the world.
Fresh-cane rum begins with juice pressed directly from harvested sugarcane.
Same plant.
Very different starting points.
Pot Still vs. Column Still
Just like other spirits, rum can be distilled using different types of stills.
Pot stills often produce heavier, richer, more intensely flavored spirits.
Column stills can produce lighter, cleaner spirits at higher alcohol concentrations.
Many famous rums are blends of both.
Mount Gay, for example, continues to use traditional copper pot stills alongside column distillation.
Jamaican Rum
Jamaica deserves special mention because its traditional rums can contain remarkably intense fruity and funky aromas.
That famous character comes partly from flavorful compounds called esters, produced during fermentation and distillation.
Rum enthusiasts affectionately call the distinctive Jamaican character “funk.”
Yes, funk is a compliment here.
Navy Strength Rum
The history behind Navy Strength is more interesting than simply saying it means overproof rum.
Before accurate instruments were readily available, one way to test spirits was to wet gunpowder with the liquor and attempt to ignite it.
If the gunpowder still burned, the spirit was considered “proof.”
That historical proof point corresponds to approximately 57 percent ABV, which is why modern spirits labeled Navy Strength are commonly bottled around 57 percent.
The Royal Navy's actual rum ration and its strength changed over time, so Navy Strength today is better understood as a historical-style strength than as one universal recipe the Navy always served.
Which means sailors had a perfectly reasonable scientific question:
Will my rum set the gunpowder on fire?
Bartenders have considerably safer quality-control procedures today.
Modern Rums That Changed the Bar
Bartenders have helped push rum far beyond the familiar light, dark, spiced, and coconut bottles that once dominated American back bars. Producers began releasing rums with bigger personalities, traditional production methods, unusual infusions, and flavors designed for serious cocktails.
These five have become particularly influential behind modern bars.
2012 — Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum
Rum expert Ed Hamilton, founder of the influential Ministry of Rum, spent decades traveling throughout the Caribbean, visiting distilleries, researching rum production, importing spirits, and becoming one of the industry's most respected rum authorities.
Hamilton eventually began bottling rums under his own name, including Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum, a rich Guyanese rum created with cocktails in mind.
Instead of bottling it at the common 80 proof, Hamilton chose 86 proof (43% ABV) to preserve more of the rum's character. Its deep molasses, caramel, smoky, and dark-fruit flavors made it especially useful in tiki and tropical cocktails.
Hamilton wasn't trying to make rum trendy.
He was trying to give bartenders the rum they needed.
2012–2013 — Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black
Hamilton also turned his attention to Jamaica's unmistakable flavors with Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black.
Produced at Jamaica's Worthy Park Estate, it is a blend of extra-light, light, and heavy pot-still rums distilled from fermented molasses. Unlike what you'll sometimes read online, the rum is not barrel-aged; its dark appearance comes from cane-sugar caramel added after distillation. It is bottled at 46.5% ABV (93 proof).
What makes it memorable is that classic Jamaican character—ripe and overripe banana, tropical fruit, spice, and plenty of what rum people affectionately call funk.
It became especially popular with tiki bartenders because a relatively small amount can add a big Jamaican personality to a cocktail.
Basically, this rum doesn't enter a cocktail quietly.
2014 — Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
Originally called Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum, this collaboration between Maison Ferrand's Alexandre Gabriel and cocktail historian David Wondrich helped completely change the reputation of pineapple rum.
Instead of simply adding artificial pineapple flavoring to rum, Stiggins' Fancy uses actual Victoria pineapples. Pineapple rind is infused into rum and redistilled, while the sweet fruit is infused separately into dark rum. The components are then blended.
The name comes from Reverend Stiggins, the hypocritical temperance preacher in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers who happened to enjoy pineapple rum.
Bartenders embraced Stiggins' Fancy for Daiquiris, Mai Tais, tiki drinks, original cocktails, and even shots. It became one of those bottles that began appearing on serious cocktail back bars everywhere.
It remains a bartender favorite and continues winning major spirits awards.
Good to know: Plantation Rum changed its name to Planteray Rum in 2024, so you'll see older recipes and bottles using the Plantation name.
Apparently pineapple rum just needed a couple hundred years and some really good bartenders to improve its reputation.
2018 — Probitas White Blended Rum
Probitas—sold as Veritas in some countries—helped demonstrate that “white rum” didn't have to mean light, neutral, and nearly flavorless.
It combines rums from two legendary Caribbean producers: Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados and Hampden Estate in Jamaica.
The result gives bartenders the best of two rum worlds: the balance and structure of Barbados combined with some of Jamaica's wonderfully funky pot-still character.
Probitas quickly became particularly popular for one of the simplest—and least forgiving—rum cocktails of all:
The Daiquiri.
Rum. Lime. Sugar.
Nowhere for a mediocre rum to hide.
2024 — Planteray Cut & Dry Coconut Rum
After helping elevate pineapple rum with Stiggins' Fancy, Planteray turned its attention to another category that hadn't always received much respect from serious bartenders:
Coconut rum.
Planteray reportedly spent years developing Cut & Dry, eventually creating a rum using real Barbadian coconuts and Barbadian rum.
Rather than tasting like coconut candy or suntan lotion, Cut & Dry emphasizes actual coconut character alongside chocolate, spice, and rum flavors. The approach quickly earned recognition, including major awards in the flavored-rum category.
In other words:
Coconut rum grew up.
Hard-to-Get Rums
Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum | Guyana
One of the legendary ingredients of tiki bartending, this 151-proof Demerara rum appears in classic recipes such as the Zombie and 151 Swizzle. Over the years, Lemon Hart 151 has repeatedly disappeared from the U.S. market, changed importers, returned, and remained frustratingly difficult to find in some states.
Good to know: When Lemon Hart 151 became difficult to obtain, rum expert Ed Hamilton developed Hamilton 151 Overproof as a Demerara-style alternative for bartenders making classic tiki recipes.
If you see Lemon Hart 151 sitting on a liquor-store shelf, this may be one of those times when “I'll get it later” is a bad plan.
Hamilton Saint Lucia Pot Still | Saint Lucia
Now this is a genuinely hard-to-get Hamilton.
Ed Hamilton released a small series of Saint Lucia pot-still rums from individual vintages and barrels, including 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-year expressions. The rums were produced by Saint Lucia Distillers and became cult bottles among serious rum drinkers. Hamilton's bottling agreement ended, so the releases were discontinued; remaining bottles have become increasingly difficult to find.
Good to know: If you stumble across an old bottle today, you're essentially finding new-old-stock rum. One retailer still lists its 2005 eight-year bottling but describes it as “very limited availability and gone for good once sold out.”
Ed Hamilton strikes again.
Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection | Barbados
Master distiller Richard Seale periodically releases limited bottlings under Foursquare's Exceptional Cask Selection (ECS) series. These aren't one permanent rum; each release is a unique expression involving different ages, barrels, blends, and maturation techniques.
They're specifically produced as limited releases, and desirable editions can disappear quickly. Foursquare describes each ECS as a one-of-a-kind release available only for a limited time.
Older releases such as Criterion, Dominus, Empery, Nobiliary, Redoutable, and others have become collector bottles.
Good to know: Rum people sometimes jokingly call Foursquare the “Pappy of Rum” because enthusiasts chase certain releases much like bourbon collectors chase Pappy Van Winkle.
Translation: If a rum nerd spots one on the shelf, don't stand between them and the bottle.
Fun Rum Facts
Rum has collected a colorful assortment of names and nicknames over the centuries. They include kill-devil, rumbullion, rumbustion, Barbados water, Nelson's blood, grog, and others.
Some terms commonly included on old lists aren't actually synonyms for rum. For example, “splice the main brace” was a Royal Navy command that eventually came to mean issuing sailors an extra ration of rum.
Rum apparently has almost as many nicknames as it has cocktails.
Boston was once hit by a 2.3-million-gallon wave of molasses.
On January 15, 1919, a massive steel storage tank belonging to the United States Industrial Alcohol Company burst in Boston's North End, releasing approximately 2.3 million gallons of molasses.
The wave reached about 15 feet high in places and reportedly traveled as fast as 35 mph, smashing buildings, damaging an elevated railway structure, and sweeping away people, horses, and vehicles.
Twenty-one people died and approximately 150 were injured.
The event became known as the Great Molasses Flood.
Yes, there really was a deadly molasses tsunami.
August is widely celebrated as National Rum Month in the United States.
You'll see distilleries, bars, liquor retailers, and rum organizations celebrate throughout August, with National Rum Day on August 16.
I would phrase this as “widely celebrated,” rather than suggesting National Rum Month is an official government designation.
As if rum needed an entire month to get our attention.
Bacardi operates the world's largest rum distillery in Puerto Rico.
Casa Bacardí is located in Cataño, across the bay from Old San Juan, rather than technically in San Juan itself. Bacardi identifies it as the world's largest rum distillery.
Visitors can tour the property and learn about Bacardi's history and rum production.
Good to know: If you're cruising to Puerto Rico skip the expensive cruise-ship excursion to Casa Bacardí from Old San Juan. Take the ferry to Cataño! I remember in the 1980s when the ferry cost 10 cents—and amazingly, it hasn't exactly been hit hard by inflation. Today it's 50 cents each way ($1 round trip) for adults ages 3–59, 25 cents for ages 60–70 and people with disabilities, and free for seniors 71+. The ride takes about ten minutes.
Apparently the cheapest thing involving rum is getting to the rum. 😄
Rum may be synonymous with the Caribbean, but it isn't exclusively Caribbean.
The Caribbean remains one of the world's great rum-producing regions, with famous traditions in Jamaica, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Martinique, Trinidad, and other islands.
Rum has a passport.
Jamaica's Wray & Nephew Overproof is bottled at a whopping 63 percent ABV—or 126 proof.
It's one of Jamaica's most famous rums and is made using both pot and column still distillates.
At 126 proof, however, Wray & Nephew doesn't exactly need defending.
Donald Duck drank cachaça.
In Disney's Saludos Amigos, Donald Duck visits Brazil, where a new Brazilian character, José Carioca, introduces him to samba—and cachaça.
José Carioca, a cigar-smoking green parrot from Rio de Janeiro, made his first appearance in the film.
The movie premiered in Brazil in 1942 and was released in the United States in 1943, which explains why both years sometimes appear in references.
Donald samples the cachaça and has quite a reaction.
Even Donald Duck apparently discovered that you should respect the pour.
A rare 1940s J. Wray & Nephew rum has been valued at around $54,000 a bottle. Surviving bottles of the legendary Jamaican rum have become extremely collectible.
Imagine being the bartender who accidentally puts that bottle in the well.
Cleveland bartenders once made a 95-gallon Daiquiri.
On November 11, 2016, the team from Porco Lounge & Tiki Room set out to create a 100-gallon Daiquiri at Cleveland's Fabulous Food Show.
Using 80 bottles of Appleton Estate rum, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, ice, and multiple Vitamix blenders, the team produced a staggering 95 gallons of Daiquiri—surpassing a previous 71-gallon record made in Havana.
The cocktail was poured into an enormous container decorated like a Tiki mug.
Ninety-five gallons.
Finally, a Daiquiri big enough for two.
The Royal Navy's last daily rum ration was served in 1970.
The centuries-old tradition ended on July 31, 1970, a date remembered as Black Tot Day.
Man had already walked on the moon, and British sailors were still being issued rum at work.
Mount Gay's documented history dates to 1703.
The Barbados producer is recognized as the world's oldest continuously operating rum distillery.
More than three centuries of rum.
Now that's customer retention.
Bacardi's famous bat logo came from actual bats.
When Don Facundo Bacardí Massó established his distillery in Santiago de Cuba in 1862, bats were found living in the building. His wife, Doña Amalia, suggested using the bat as the company's symbol.
It turned out to be one of the most recognizable liquor logos in the world.
Apparently, the original Bacardi marketing team worked the night shift.
Bacardi 151 is now a piece of bar history.
The famous overproof rum was bottled at 151 proof—or 75.5 percent ABV—and discontinued in 2016.
There are bartenders of a certain age who just felt their eyebrows singe reading that sentence.
Rum was once part of a sailor's paycheck.
For centuries, British sailors received a daily ration of alcohol that eventually became closely associated with rum.
The ration became so ingrained in Royal Navy culture that special occasions could call for an extra issue of rum under the command “Splice the mainbrace.”
Originally, actually splicing the main brace was one of the most difficult emergency repairs aboard a sailing ship.
Eventually, somebody decided surviving that deserved a drink.
Rum has been involved in politics.
When George Washington campaigned for Virginia's House of Burgesses in 1758, his campaign supplied voters with a considerable amount of alcohol—including rum punch, wine, beer, and cider.
He won.
Never underestimate a well-funded beverage program.
Rum Cocktails in Film
1942 Across the Pacific
Planter’s Punches.
1944 To Have and Have Not
Daiquiri.
1950 Father of the Bride
Rum & Coke and Frozen Daiquiri.
1954 White Christmas
Hot Buttered rum, light on the butter.
1955 Guys and Dolls
Dulce de leche.
1959 Our Man in Havana
Daiquiris.
1960 The Apartment
Daiquiri and a Rum Collins.
1961 Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Planter’s Punch.
1963 Come Blow Your Horn
Rum & Coke.
1965 Thunderball
Rum Collins.
1969 Hello, Dolly!
Rum Toddy.
1971 Play Misty for Me
Coffee Grog, a Donn Beach original.
1974 The Godfather: Part II
Banana Daiquiri.
1985 Desperately Seeking Susan
Rum and Tab.
1996 Up Close and Personal
Banana Daiquiri.
1997 Open Your Eyes
Rum & Cokes.
1998 Wild Things
Rum & Coke.
1999 Me, Myself, & Irene
Rum & Cokes.
2000 Chuck & Buck
Rum & Coke.
2000 Reindeer Games
Rum & Cokes.
2000 The Banger Sisters
Rum & Coke.
2002 Die Another Day
Mojitos.
2003 Bad Boys II
Bacardí Mojitos.
2003 From Justin to Kelly
Piña Colada.
2004 I Heart Huckabees
Piña Coladas are mentioned.
2005 The Ice Harvest
Rum & Pineapple Juice.
2006 Casino Royale
Mount Gay & Soda.
2007 Perfect Stranger
Hemingway Daiquiris.
2007 Shrek the Third
Puss in Boots daydreams of fishing with a pitcher of Mojitos.
2008 Nim’s Island
The captain talks about selling Piña Coladas to tourists.
Rum Cocktails in Books
1843 Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens
Rum-toddy.
1920 This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Daiquiri.
1958 Our Man in Havana, Graham Greene
Rum cocktails frozen, with lime.”
2014 Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
Mojitos.
Rum Cocktails in Songs
1945 “Rum and Coca-Cola” Andrew Sisters
“Drinkin' rum and Coca-Cola, Go down Point Koomahnah, both mother and daughter, workin' for the Yankee dollar.”
1975 “Bad Sneakers” Steely Dan
“Bad sneakers and a Piña Colada my friend.”
1978 “Werewolves of London” Warren Zevon
“I saw a werewolf drinking a Piña Colada at Trader Vic's.”
1979 “Escape” Rubert Holmes
“If you like Piña Coladas and getting caught in the rain.”
1983 “Name Your Poison” Richard O’Brien
Mai Tai and Planter’s Punch.
1997 “Two Piña Coladas” Garth Brooks
“So bring me two Piña Coladas, one for each hand, let’s set sail with Captain Morgan and never leave dry land.”
2003 “Ignition” R. Kelly
“Sippin’ on coke and rum, I'm like so what I'm drunk, it's the freakin’ weekend baby, I'm about to have me some fun.”
2004 “Piña Colada in a Pint Jar” Gaelic Storm
“She wants a Piña Colada in a pint glass, she wants to be where the summer won't stop.”
2005 “Be as You Are” Kenny Chesney
“Man, I could use a Piña Colada, little bit of sun on my skin.”
2011 “Piña Colada Girl” Davis Hasselhoff
“Piña Colada girl, you make the boys go ahh.”
10 Annual Rum Events
& Festivals
Miami Rum Congress | Miami Beach, Florida | February
A three-day rum education and tasting event featuring seminars, master distillers, brand ambassadors, cocktail professionals, competitions, and a Grand Tasting. The seventh annual event was held February 6–8, 2026, with around 200 rum expressions represented.
Good to know: This one leans heavily into education, so it's a particularly good choice for bartenders and serious rum enthusiasts.
Taste of Rum | San Juan, Puerto Rico | March
Puerto Rico's major annual rum festival combines tastings with seminars, masterclasses, cocktails, music, and Puerto Rican rum culture. The 2026 event on March 28 marked its 16th year.
Good to know: If you're going to attend a rum festival, attending one in Puerto Rico seems like doing your homework properly.
Madeira Rum Festival | Funchal, Madeira, Portugal | April
An annual celebration of Madeira's distinctive sugarcane-based agricole rum, with producers, tastings, cocktails, food, music, and educational events. The 2026 festival ran April 14–18.
Good to know: Madeira is one of the more unusual rum destinations on this list and gives visitors a chance to explore rum literally where the sugarcane grows.
Rhum Fest Paris | Paris, France | April
One of Europe's major rum gatherings, devoted to rum, rhum and cachaça. The 2025 edition featured 122 brands and more than 350 exhibitors; the 2026 festival was held April 18–20 at Parc Floral.
Good to know: Nearly 8,000 trade and public visitors attended in 2025. Apparently Paris has interests beyond wine.
Chicago Rum Festival | Chicago, Illinois | April
Formerly called the Midwest Rum Festival, this annual Rum Lab event offers trade sessions, educational seminars and tastings for consumers and rum professionals. The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 25, 2026.
Good to know: Rhum Week Chicago surrounds the main festival with additional tastings and brand events.
New York Rum Festival & Conference | New York City | June
An annual two-part event featuring a professional rum conference followed by a large consumer Grand Tasting. The ninth edition was held June 5–6, 2026, with 40+ brands and roughly 200 rum expressions advertised.
Good to know: You can come as a rum expert or simply as someone who would like to become considerably more knowledgeable by the end of the afternoon.
California Rum Fest & Congress | San Francisco Bay Area, California | September
The West Coast Rum Lab gathering combines a Grand Tasting with rum education and industry programming. The 11th annual festival is September 19–20, 2026, at the legendary Trader Vic's in Emeryville.
Good to know: A rum festival held at Trader Vic's—the birthplace of the Mai Tai—is about as appropriate as it gets.
California Rum Fest & Congress
UK RumFest | London, England | October
Founded by rum ambassador Ian Burrell, UK RumFest bills itself as the world's longest-running rum festival. Its 20th-anniversary edition takes place October 17–18, 2026, with about 400 rums represented from six continents.
Caribbean Rum Awards St. Barth | St. Barthélemy | October
Part competition and part luxury rum festival, this annual Caribbean event combines blind judging with tastings, Ti' Punch parties, beach events, rum dinners, masterclasses and other celebrations. The ninth annual event runs October 26–30, 2026.
Good to know: Rum tastings. Caribbean beach. St. Barth. I'm struggling to identify the downside.
Caribbean Rum Awards St. Barth
Miami Rum Renaissance Festival | Coral Gables, Florida | November
One of America's longest-running rum gatherings, the 17th annual Miami Rum Renaissance Festival takes place November 13–14, 2026. It features educational seminars followed by a Grand Tasting with several hundred rums from around the world.
Good to know: Don't confuse this with the Miami Rum Congress in February. Miami apparently decided one rum festival a year wasn't enough.
Celebrity Rum
Celebrity spirits aren't limited to tequila, vodka, and whiskey. Musicians, actors, and other famous names have also found their way into rum.
Some simply lend their fame to a bottle.
Others actually own the company, help develop the rum, or apparently wake up one morning and think:
You know what my career needs? A distillery.
Blue Chair Bay — Kenny Chesney
Country superstar Kenny Chesney launched Blue Chair Bay Rum in 2013, inspired by the Caribbean lifestyle that has influenced so much of his music.
This isn't simply an endorsement. Chesney's company says he fully owns Blue Chair Bay, and he worked with master blender Mike Booth developing the rums. The line includes White, Spiced, Coconut, Banana, and several rum creams.
The rums are made in the Caribbean from sugarcane molasses.
Kenny didn't just sing about sitting on a beach.
He bottled it.
SelvaRey — Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars is a co-owner and creative force behind SelvaRey Rum, produced in Panama by legendary Cuban-born rum maker Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez.
SelvaRey produces White, Chocolate, Coconut, and aged expressions. Mars became heavily involved with the brand's creative direction, including its packaging, advertising, and tropical-luxury image.
Other investors and partners have included Anderson .Paak and Asian pop superstar Jay Chou.
Bruno Mars selling rum somehow feels considerably less surprising than Bruno Mars selling, say, insurance.
Ten To One — Ciara
Singer Ciara became an investor, co-owner, and director of Ten To One Rum in 2021.
But there's an important distinction: she didn't found the company.
Trinidad-born entrepreneur Marc Farrell founded Ten To One in 2019 with the goal of presenting Caribbean rum without relying on the usual pirates-and-palm-trees stereotypes.
Ciara later joined Farrell as co-owner and became involved in marketing, creative direction, business development, and strategic partnerships.
The brand blends rums from several Caribbean origins.
This is one celebrity brand where the rum came first and the celebrity came later.
Sammy's Beach Bar Rum — Sammy Hagar
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar founded Sammy's Beach Bar Rum.
The rums are distilled in Puerto Rico from cane molasses and include white and aged expressions.
Of course, Hagar was already an old hand at celebrity spirits. Long before celebrity tequila became fashionable, he founded Cabo Wabo Tequila.
Apparently retirement was never going to involve lemonade.
Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum — Chris Blackwell
This one is a little different because Chris Blackwell isn't a movie star or singer—he's one of the most influential people in modern music.
Blackwell founded Island Records, the label instrumental in bringing artists including Bob Marley to an international audience.
He later created Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum, drawing on his Jamaican heritage and family history. The rum launched in 2008 and is produced in Jamaica.
There's another wonderful connection: Blackwell owns GoldenEye, Ian Fleming's former Jamaican home where Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.
Rum + Bob Marley + James Bond.
That's a pretty good résumé for one bottle.
Crossfire Hurricane — The Rolling Stones
This is the newest one—it launched in 2026.
The Rolling Stones created Crossfire Hurricane, a Jamaican rum named after the opening lyric of their 1968 hit “Jumpin' Jack Flash.”
Crossfire Hurricane was developed with respected rum ambassador Ian Burrell and combines Jamaican rums from four major distilleries: Hampden Estate, Long Pond, Worthy Park, and Clarendon.
The project also connects to the Stones' long history with Jamaica, including recording sessions there beginning in the 1970s and relationships with Jamaican musicians.
Two expressions launched: Gold and Reserve, both bottled at 40% ABV.
The Rolling Stones have been around long enough to become both rock history and rum history.
Three Hearts Rum — Johnny Depp
Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp has entered the actual rum business with Three Hearts Rum, working with spirits entrepreneur Robert DeLeon.
The project is intended to showcase traditional Caribbean rum production rather than simply build a celebrity-branded novelty product, with plans for expressions highlighting different rum-producing regions.
There is something almost inevitable about Johnny Depp eventually getting involved with rum.
After five Pirates of the Caribbean movies, apparently someone finally answered:
“Why is the rum gone?”
Celebrity Rum: Who Actually Owns What?
Founder / owner / co-owner:
Kenny Chesney — Blue Chair Bay
Bruno Mars — SelvaRey
Ciara — Ten To One (co-owner; Marc Farrell founded it)
Sammy Hagar — Sammy's Beach Bar Rum
Chris Blackwell — Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum
Celebrity/band-created or partnership projects:
The Rolling Stones — Crossfire Hurricane
Johnny Depp — Three Hearts Rum
The distinction matters because celebrity spirits range from genuine ownership and product development to licensing arrangements and promotional partnerships.
A famous face on the bottle doesn't always mean a famous person owns what's inside it.