The community's favorite rums in 2021

Which rums (regardless of the year of release) were rated best by the RumX community in 2021? Here are the community favorites!

RumX’s highest rated rum is coming from…drum roll please - Caroni! Released in “The Last” Caroni has gained significant popularity quickly, received a lot of positive feedback from industry experts and the blogger scene and also took our community’s hearts by storm. 93,47 was the average rating at the end of 2021 and made it the highest rated rum with at least 25 community ratings. Interesting to mention is that the bottler behind this release, Velier, is responsible for 6 of the 10 highest rated rums in RumX. Not a too big surprise given the fame that the Italian bottler has claimed in the Rum scene - these results show: Velier’s popularity is more than well-deserved.

Our second and third place welcome us with a warm “Hello again!”: The top rum of 2021 directly entered the RumX community’s all-time favorites list at rank 2 with only 0,3 rating points less than Velier’s “The Last” Caroni. And also rank three goes to an Rum Artesanal release from 2021: The 1989 Hampden made it to the silver rank of our rum of the year 2021 list. With a total of 3 rums in the RumX all-time top 10 list, Rum Artesanal definitely claimed their spot in the rum hall of fame.

On another note: Given our criteria of at least 20 community ratings, quite a few rums with outstanding average rating did not make it to the list. You might miss especially older Demerara, Caroni or Jamaican bottlings. These became extremely hard to get hold off these days - getting the chance to taste them has turned into a privilege given their scarcity. These bottles were rated by only a smaller group of RumX users and thus did not make it to the list. Take this list with a pinch of salt - while all rums on the list are of remarkable quality, it cannot stand the test of serving as “all-time best of rum” list. We are sure you still enjoy this overview though. Cheers!

RX38

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum 39th Release (The Last) Heavy Trinidad Rum

9.3/10

55 ratings

39th Release (The Last) Heavy Trinidad Rum

Velier • Caroni
1996   23yr   61,9%   €€€€

Top review from Oliver:

"Incredibly complex and yet easy sipping. A real Caroni highlight!"

RX7784

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum Rum Artesanal Barbados Rum Rockley Style BBR

9.3/10

41 ratings

Rum Artesanal Barbados Rum Rockley Style BBR

Heinz Eggert GmbH • West Indies
1986   34yr   53,7%   €€€€

Top review from Johannes:

"Benchmark Rockley! ❤️A liquid dream!Compared to the SS, Nobilis and Plantation, it has both the best nose and the best palate. Very nice roundness, alcohol top integrated, some smoke, but overall a honey monster!"

RX7786

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum Rum Artesanal Jamaica Rum HD HGML

9.2/10

34 ratings

Rum Artesanal Jamaica Rum HD HGML

Heinz Eggert GmbH • Hampden
1989   31yr   67,6%   €€€€

Top review from Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰:

"Sampling this one right now and I have to admit that it's one of the most well balanced rums I have ever tried when it comes to ABV integration.Very fruity and lovely funk from nose to finish. There is a slight roasting note on the finish that I like a lot.Wonderful rum that is virtually impossible to get.Put my nose in the glass today and the smoke is very strong today :-)"

RX121

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum Rum Artesanal Guyana Rum REV

9.1/10

51 ratings

Rum Artesanal Guyana Rum REV

Heinz Eggert GmbH • Enmore
1994   25yr   51,4%   €€€€

Top review from Jakob:

"Absolute top representative of the REVs. Plum, leather, licorice, oak, a hint of tobacco - the REV profile, already extremely impressive in itself, appears here in top form. Exquisite."

RX8041

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum Jamaica C<>H

9.1/10

31 ratings

Jamaica CH

The Rum Cask • Hampden
1990   30yr   55,6%   €€€€

Top review from Oliver:

"King's class! 🤴In a direct comparison, RumClub 1990 (26 years) is one point ahead."

RX516

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum ULR

9.1/10

28 ratings

ULR

Velier • Uitvlugt
1997   17yr   59,7%   €€€€

Top review from Jakob:

"Absolute Champions League from Guyana. Fantastically balanced between sweetness, wood, spice and subtle fruitiness. Excellent!"

RX95

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum HGML

9.0/10

48 ratings

HGML

Habitation Velier • Hampden
2010   9yr   62%   €€€€

Top review from Jakob:

"For me, still a touch before the C<>H, although that can be justified m.E. only exclusively subjective and is dependent not least on the form of the day. How much better tropically stored Hampden still goes probably remains to be seen - but for me this is definitely already absolute top class."

RX5340

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum C<>H

9.0/10

53 ratings

CH

Habitation Velier • Hampden
2010   10yr   68,5%   €€€€

Top review from Galli33:

"WoW what an amazing rum 😍 The best of Hampden i ever had in the glass, so far. Nose: Wonderfull synergy of funk, ester, trop. fruits and glue. Mouth: The alcohol is perfectly integrated🫠Very delicious, balanced, complex rum, some nice lovely notes of overripe fruits and pineapple. Finish: Is quite long and fruity with some notes of the barrel with a lightly astringency. 🤤🤤"

RX88

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum Warren Khong <H> <>H

9.0/10

38 ratings

Warren Khong H

Velier • Hampden
2010   7yr   62%   €€€€

Top review from Jakob:

"Exquisite Hampden. Fans of the tropically aged high-ester representatives are offered a lot here - the tropical fruits meet the right mix of wood influences from the barrel, sweet pastry notes, some glue and spice. Hampden at its best - inspiring."

RX9145

Image of the front of the bottle of the rum 5th Employees Deodat „Breeze“ Manmohan HTR

9.0/10

31 ratings

5th Employees Deodat „Breeze“ Manmohan HTR

Velier • Caroni
1996   25yr   66,7%   €€€€

Top review from Joachim Guger:

"Wunderschön gediegene Nase, Politur und Holzreife en Masse. Mit etwas Wasser flüssige Fishermans Friends. Nicht sehr dreckig. Im Mund ölig und dicht. Eine Chemiefabrik mit Karamell. Würzig und komplex. Im Abgang dann Holz und Karamell. Ein toller Caroni. Teer und die verbrannten Noten jedoch sehr zurückhaltend. Mehr davon bitte…"