Which are the 5 best cheap rums quality-price in 2023?
Rum is one of the most popular aged drinks that exist, the best white rum brands are made in Central America and the Caribbean, they have been spread over the world by famous cocktails such as the Cuba Libre, Mojito, and Daiquiri.
The best cheap rums are not often drunk pure, they’re quite strong, taste too much like alcohol or can be too sweet. Thus, they’re used to making rum cocktails; they don’t need great complexity in their preparation for the outcome to be delicious, striking, and pleasant.
There are hundreds of different ways to mix it; I love it with a bit of ice, soda, and lemon, which is typical of where I come from. However, not all rums deserve to be combined with other drinks; you have to know how to identify them, there are some that are so complex that adding something to it doesn’t make sense; worry not, I’ll help you.
Next up I show you a selection of the best cheap rums, that can work perfectly to make your own rum-based cocktails and the rum reviews.
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The top 5 best rums cheap in 2023
Matusalem Aged Rum: Best Cuban rum
This is one of the best rums of the brand that can be considered as the emblem of distillery, the Matusalem Aged Rum is made under the solera method, which gives it the characteristic flavor.
The smell is very special, a great variety of aromas can be detected, among the most outstanding are wood, dry fruits and caramel.
As for the flavor, the truth is that is very tasty, smooth and nice to the palate, it leaves cocoa and toasted oak flavors; at the end it looks like the drink was a cognac.
The main advantage is its price, in this category has the highest grade. It also stands out for being smooth and easy to drink.
As for its inconveniences there are some who claim its flavor disappears quickly.
I recommend you drink it alone first, to appreciate its flavours, after a couple of drinks you can add a bit of ice to it or use it in a shaker.
Don Papa Rum: Best sweet rum
This is one of the best rums produced in the Philippines by distillery, Don Papa Rum is maturated in American oak barrels for at least 7 years.
It has a smoked and smooth flavour; with a fine texture. On the finish, wood and vanilla touches remain.
Its strengths are the sweet taste it has, it’s easy to drink, very aromatic and that it goes along perfectly with cocktails.
Its main weakness is that some users claim it has cough syrup-like taste, as if it had artificial flavours. There´s also some who claim it doesn’t have the quality of a rum aged that time.
Diplomático Mantuano Rum: Best rum to drink straight
It’s a Venezuelan rum created by a mix of many high-quality rums that come from the sugar can and molasses. It’s maybe one of the best cheap rums to make cocktails you can find.
It has a dark golden colour; plums, oak and a bit of a spicy aroma. Its flavour is complex but balanced; with dry fruits, wood and vanilla. Ending with a slightly dry touch.
Its main strength is that when combined, new flavours and smells come to light.
Its inconvenience is that there are some who claim that drinking it neat can be tough and the flavour disappears quickly. Is recommended drinking it with cocktails as the Mary Pickford and the Negroni.
Kraken Black Spiced Rum: The cheapest dark rum
It’s made in Trinidad and Tobago; the Kraken blacked spiced Rum is aged in oak barrels for 12 to 14 months. It’s a black-type rum and with added spices.
For the taste, the cinnamon, vanilla and nuts stand out. It ends with a spicy touch that goes away too fast.
Its strengths are, it has a striking bottle, it’s really good to make cocktails and has a different taste than the traditional rums
Its weaknesses are, it can be cloying and there are some who claim it has too many spices.
A great variety of cocktails can be created with this rum, like the Toucan and the Sea Monster Mai Tai.
Flor de Caña 12 years: Best affordable premium rum
It is one of the best cheap rums at the time, the Flor de Caña 12 years is made in Nicaragua. Distilled up to 5 times and maturated under the process called slow maturation for at least 12 years.
A premium rum with a great body, has an opaque golden color. Its aroma is very refined, berries, honey and nuts, can be appreciated.
For the flavour, it has wooden, vanilla, smoked apples touches. The ending is smooth and very light.
Its main strength is the flavour, it´s an affordable rum that doesn’t have any waste. There are people who claim the flavor, although intense, doesn’t last much.
Highly recommended to drink pure or with a little of ice, it has great flavour.
Koko Kanu Rum: Best Jamaican rum
Koko Kanu is a subtle blend of the finest white aged Jamaican rums steeped with tropical coconut flavour. the rums were chosen for their natural coconut notes, and are aged for a minimum of one year. after ageing, the rum is then charcoal filtered to achieve its crystal clear colour at 37.5% abv, koko kanu enjoys a delicious full body rum texture balanced with a light, refreshing taste of coconut.
Koko Kanu. inspire adventure
Other Rum Recommendations for the best rum
Rum Brugal Gran Reserva 1888: Best rum for drinks
It is a Dominican rum, belongs to the first distillery that was created in the country, in Puerto de la Plata. Its elaboration is a secret family recipe that has been transmitted through generations since 1888.
The Brugal Gran Reserva 1888, is a complex recipe that stimulates the senses, bottled at 40% alcoholic strength by volume; it is matured in American oak barrels that previously contained Bourbon for 14 years.
Is an aged rum, with a pure amber color; it has sweet aromas of roasted oak, grapes, dates, honey and a little smoked contribution by charred oak barrels.
Its flavor is typical of an aged, buttery, sweet caramel, honey, pieces of smoke and wood; maybe you can feel apple flavor and salted butter at the end.
Definitely noted for the wood taste, there are those who find it perfect for a cuba libre cooktail. For some users it is excessively dry, strong to smell and taste.
Recommended for dried citrus cocktails such as Cuba Libre, Santo libre and Daiquirí.
Rum Santa Teresa 1796: The best Venezuelan rum
It is a Venezuelan rum, produced by the Hacienda Santa Teresa, in the centre of the country, which is born from the mixture of aged rums between 4 and 35 years.
Santa Teresa 1976 is made using the old solera method, an artisanal process in oak barrels that had traditionally been reserved for brandy and Spanish sherry.
It is one of the best aged rums you will taste, with a firm body but at the same time delicate.
It has a reddish amber color, with a fruity aroma and honey notes and bitter chocolate. Its flavor is sweet and complex, you can appreciate tobacco, leather, roasted and smoked; the oak in which it is aged brings all these attributes.
It stands out for being easy to drink, even if you are not used to drink dry, it is very soft. For some, their thin side is smoky notes, they say they get lost very quickly.
Ideal to drink pure, on the rocks or with gasified water. If you want to prepare a cocktail I recommend it to mix it with a little soda and lemon juice.
Rum zapaca centenario 23: Best rum to drink neat
It’s a Guatemalan rum, from the city of Quezaltenango, a mountainous area in the west where the Santa María volcano is located.
The Zapaca Centenario 23 Solera rum is aged to perfection, at a height of 2300 meters above sea level.
It is an aged rum, born from a mixture of rums from 6 to 23 years old; has won the best rum of the world for 5 consecutive years at the International Rum Tasting and has been included in the Rum Hall of Fame.
With a mahogany colour with reddish tones, it has aromas of vanilla, honey nuts, and orange peel.
The taste is spectacular, it is definitely one of the best rums in the world, you can see roasted caramel, spiced oak, and raisins.
It stands out for its flavour, I could even have breakfast with it, complex and very easy to drink.
I find it very difficult to find an inconvenience, perhaps the price, but it is worth every money you are paying.
I recommend that you drink it pure or with a little ice in a shot glass, you can better appreciate the aroma. It’s considered the best rum with cigars
There are those who recommend it in cocktails, it’s a matter of trying and seeing how you like it best.
Comparative between best cheap-rums quality-price in 2023
 Matusalem Rum |  Don Papa Rum |  Diplomatico Rum Mantuano |  Kraken Rum Black |  Flor de Caña 12 Rum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Cuba | The Philippines | Venzuela | Trinidad and Tobago | Nicaragua |
| Type of rum | Premium | Premium | Premium | Black Spiced | Premium |
| Age | 15 years old | 7 years old | 8 years old | 14 months | 12 years old |
| Smell and taste | Wood, dry fruits and caramel | Smoked and smooth flavour | Dry fruits, wood and vanilla | The cinnamon, vanilla and the nuts stand out | It has wooden, vanilla, smoked apples touches |
| Summary | Smooth and easy to drink | it goes along perfectly with cocktails | It is recommended drinking it with cocktails as the Mary Pickford and the Negroni | A great variety of cocktails can be created with this rum | Highly recommended to drink pure or with a little of ice |
| Price | Price | Price | Price | Price |
What do you have to consider to buy the best cheap rums?
The best rum to buy doesn’t have to be necessarily very expensive, there are distilleries that make really good rums made to be a raw material for a series of drinks. There is no better or worse, it all depends on what would you use it for and what type of cocktail you’ll make.
You should keep in mind, that regardless of the country of origin, there are types of rum and each one has a different goal. I’ll tell you briefly what they’re about:
Types of rums
- White rum: The main characteristic of this one is that it is colorless and it’s not aged, this rum is the base of the industry. This type of rum is sweet and with little aroma, they aren’t very good to drink pure; it’s more adequate to make cocktails such as punch, Daiquiri, Mojito, and Cuba Libre.
- Golden rum: With a bright amber colour, aged in wood for a long time; it doesn’t strain, caramel is added to make the colour more intense. Its flavour is a little more intense than white, they are ideal as digestives and its sweet aroma is used in pastry.
- Black rum: It is dark, unlike the others this one is distilled, it’s black due to the colourants added when it’s aged. This is one of the sweetest, if you’ve ever tried molasses, that´s how it tastes.
- Aged rum: It’s one of the most popular, they usually have a maturation time of 3 to 6 years; you’ll see in its label “Gran Reserva”, “Reserva”, “Extra aged”. They are perfect to drink in more complex cocktails, they are tastier; also, you can drink it pure or with ice, but they’re strong.
- Premium rum: This one generally makes reference to the one each brand considers one of its best, it has different quality controls, they come from of fine rums mixes, aged for time, with spiced flavours. It depends on each distillery and the master that creates them.
What should you keep in mind to buy a good cheap rum?
- Choose the type of drink you want to create, they are some like the Mojito for which white rum is used, others like Cuba Libre where aged or golden rum is used.
- Don’t look for the rum’s aging time, for this type of rum is not common for them to be maturated for a long time. The golden colour will give you an idea of how young they are.
Disadvantages of buying cheap rum
- Usually, the bottles don’t have a dispenser, be careful with who you buy it from and when you serve the drink.
- It can leave you with a strong hangover.
- They’re too strong to drink pure.
Advantages of buying cheap rum
- It has a wide variety of countries to choose from, you can vary with the origin of the rum you use for a cocktail, and see which one is better for you.
- You can find really great deals.
Rum cocktails
Cuba Libre
Ingredients
- One portion of your preferred rum
- Two portions of Cola.
Preparation
Mix and serve with ice.
Mojito
Ingredients
- One portion of your preferred rum.
- Lemon slices.
- 12 fresh mint leaves.
- 2 heaped teaspoons of sugar.
- One portion of soda.
