My Favorite 5 Rums of 2025

I’m a little behind on this, but finally getting out my Favorite 5 of 2025 — these are the rums that stayed with me long after the glass was empty.

This isn’t a “best of” list. These are the bottles that surprised me, challenged expectations, or simply delivered something memorable.

1. Dead Reckoning “83 Islands” 3-Year
FRS Single Barrel Selection — Vanuatu 🇻🇺🥃🌴
I said it when it was released… if you splurged on one rum in the first half of the year, this was it.
Dead Reckoning continues to prove that age statements don’t tell the full story, and this Vanuatu cask is a perfect example. It delivers familiar rum comfort while throwing in flavor twists you don’t see every day.
Nose: Light and inviting with brown sugar and caramel
Palate: Oak, black cherry, molasses
Finish: Surprisingly gentle burn, cola, cinnamon chips
What really hooked me was the transition from palate to finish—there’s this almost spiked cherry cola moment that comes out of nowhere and somehow just works.

2. Roaming Road 17 Year — Spain 🇪🇸🥃🌴
Only the second Spanish rum I’ve ever had. The first was good, but nothing memorable. This one? Completely different story.
The nose is fairly straightforward—oak and molasses—but the palate absolutely explodes.
Nose: Oak, molasses
Palate: Cinnamon, nutmeg, baking spices, bay leaf, red wine
Finish: Long, with oak, black cherry, and brown sugar
There’s a depth here that really surprised me, especially the red wine influence layered into the spice profile. If you come across this bottle, don’t hesitate.

3. Saint James ✕ Excellence Rhum
10th Anniversary — Brut de Fût 2006 🇲🇶🥃🌴
This is agricole rum firing on all cylinders.
Bold, aromatic, and unapologetically grassy—yet beautifully composed from start to finish.
Nose: Nutmeg, lemongrass, menthol
Palate: Citrus rind, honey, allspice
Finish: Vibrant grassiness, cherry wood, eucalyptus mint, peppery heat
If you love agricole for its connection to place and raw material, this bottle delivers that experience in full stereo. Complex, expressive, and deeply satisfying.

4. Havana Club 15 Años 🇨🇺🥃🌴
This was my white whale.
After years of chasing this bottle, I finally was able to grab one in London this past summer.
Nose: Dried fruits (dates, plums, raisins), tobacco, cocoa, vanilla, coffee, toasted oak
Palate: Prune, fig, honey, nutmeg, oak, dark chocolate, coffee, subtle spice
Finish: Long and elegant with vanilla, cocoa, and soft tannins
There’s a distinct dryness here that sets it apart—a reminder that great rum doesn’t need to shout.

5. Down Island Spirits Jamaica 2008 (New Yarmouth)
FRS ✕ Rum Curious Club Collaboration #1 🇯🇲🥃🌴
This bottle represents everything I love about thoughtful independent bottling—and why New Yarmouth remains one of Jamaica’s most important distilleries.
Distilled in 2008 on a double retort pot still, this rum spent 9 years in ex-bourbon casks in Jamaica before moving to England for more than 8 additional years in a French oak Sauternes cask.
Nose: Tropical fruit, butterscotch, pineapple, cinnamon, minerality, dried stone fruit
Palate: Layered stone fruit, dark cherry, molasses, subtle wine influence
Overall: Buttery, elegant, restrained esters with zero excess oak
The best way I can describe it: the lovechild of classic Jamaican rum and fine Armagnac. Rich, elegant, and incredibly balanced. A bottle I’m genuinely proud to have the FRS name associated with.

Final Thought
If 2025 reinforced anything for me, it’s that rum continues to reward curiosity—whether that’s emerging origins, unexpected maturation paths, or long-aged classics finally crossing your path.
And that’s exactly why I love it. 🥃🌍