Best Rum Under $50

X marks the Jackpot. Welcome to Barbados. The Caribbean paradise known for sea, sun and sand is also home to another treasure – Rum. Did you know that Barbados is widely regarded as the birthplace of this delicious golden nectar? Barbados first started making Rum back in the 17th century and remains the place to go if you want the sample the very best the Rum world has to offer. And that’s exactly where we’re taking you. At Bumbu Rum Company, they pride themselves on making their products as authentic and traditional as possible. Their Rum is based on the original recipe created by 17th century sailors of the West Indies, who blended native Caribbean ingredients into their rum and called it "Bumbu" – the original craft Spirit. Using the same natural native spices and no artificial additives, distilled in small batches and blended by hand, their Rum is an authentic revival of this piece of Carribean history. Almost 400 years of experience in the distillation process is no joke and Bumbu Original Rum is a testament to that. The payoff is a work of art in style and substance. What does that mean? Well, the extravagant bottle with a big X on the front is truly stunning. Just look at it. But only once you pop the cork, can the real adventures begin. The Rum is crafted from first-class sugarcane that’s been gathered throughout the West Indies and aged up to 15 years in Kentucky Bourbon barrels. This is a super smooth sipping Spirit with stellar balance as well as complexity and represents everything you could possibly want in an ultra-premium Rum. Every little thing about this product just screams Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y. Except the price. The price is right and then some. Jackpot, baby! Explore more great Rum under $50.

A Rum Classic. The beginnings of this distillery goes back to the 18th century, when Don Juancho Nieto Meléndez started exploring the sources and processes responsible for the many alluring flavors of traditional beverages. Tirelessly looking for ways to refine his own products, he would study the methods employed in Jamaica, and look for inspiration from the islands of the Antilles as well. Today, Ron Diplomático is one of the most respected producers in the World, with a selection of exciting Rums that have captured the attention of many Rumminados. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva is their most award-winning Rum. It was produced in the honor of Don Juancho Nieto Meléndez. It's a complex blend of copper pot still Rums made from sugar cane juice, and matured for up to 12 years in ex-Bourbon casks. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva + Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill:  The Reserva Exclusiva is a staple in every Rum aficionado’s collection. Its caramel and vanilla sweetness with a hint of charredo oak, pairs pleasurably with the RyJ Short Churchill’s rich and creamy, floral notes. The chocolate undertones play nicely off of the Diplomatico’s orange, date and ripe berry notes. Romeo and Juliet aside, this is definitely not a tragic love story.

Rum from above the Clouds. Ron Zacapa is named after a town in eastern Guatemala. Their plantation is located higher on the volcanic plains of Retalhuleu, 1148ft (350m) above sea level. Most Rums use molasses as their base, Zacapa, however, to impart a sweeter and smoother flavor, uses only the concentrated first press of sugar cane, known as virgin sugar cane honey. When it’s time to start the fermentation, a strain of yeast extracted from pineapples is used, which produces unique ‘Zacapa’ aromatic compounds.  The Rum is then distilled at sea level in continuous column stills and moved higher into the mountains where the maturation takes place. In the highlands of Quetzaltenango, 7544ft (2.300m) above sea level, lies The House Above the Clouds. This stunning location – one of the highest ageing facilities in the World – is where Zacapa slowly develops its complex flavor and character over time. After the initial three years of maturation in a solera system, the Rum is transferred to large American white oak casks for an additional year, before they're finally bottled. Rums between 6 and 23 years old are used in the blend of Ron Zacapa Solera 23. Smartass corner: The lower atmospheric pressure helps intensify the infusion of flavors from the barrels. Barrels previously used for ageing Bourbons, Sherries and Pedro Ximénez wine are used.  

Named after one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century, Ernest Hemingway, and the boat he used to travel the world, Pilar, this is an artisan brand based in the USA. Marrying together Rums from around the world they create two expressions, Blonde and Dark, and pay homage to a great man and a great drink.    Papa’s Pilar Dark is made of hand-selected Rums Solera aged in Bourbon and Port Wine casks and finished in Spanish Sherry casks, giving it a spicy and sweet oak wood flavor. It is made up of Rums from Florida, Central America and the Caribbean. Like most Rums, it has a traditionally sweet overtone, but has a wonderfully dark and bitter undertone, full of coffee and dark chocolate, to complement the caramel perfectly.

The First Sipping Rum from the Philippines.   Don Papa was started in 2011 by Stephen Carroll, a former exec at Remy Cointreau. Inspiration came during a visit of Philippines’ sugar capital of Negros. Carroll was fascinated by the stories of an island that had everything; from the World’s finest sugarcane, beautiful beaches, mountains and volcanoes… even guerrillas in the hills. He deemed it only natural for Philippine Rum to be produced in Negros. The brand Don Papa was inspired by an unsung hero, a healer, shaman, seer, rebel, and leader of a group of babaylane, who played a key role during the late 19th-century Philippine Revolution.   Don Papa Rum was aged for 7 years in American oak barrels in the foothills of Mount Kanlaon. It’s the first sipping Rum of the Philippines, where the majority of Rum consumed is mass-produced, cheap and mainly meant to be mixed. But like everywhere around the World, people are waking up to pristine, small batch and craft products.    Smartass Corner: Don Papa’s bottle comes from France, the cork from Portugal, the label from Italy and the brand image from New York’s Stranger & Stranger design firm. Don Papa has earned a double gold medal for packaging design at the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and product innovation of the year at the 2013 Paris Cocktail Spirits Show. There are 50 animals hidden in the label. Can you find them?