20 Best White Rums for Pina Colada

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Whether you want to craft cocktails or sip on premium quality booze, the best white rum goes a long way. Contrary to what people believe, white rum shouldn’t be limited to mixing silver or light rum cocktails that don’t require a depth of flavor. 

With the right white rum pick, you can experiment with a host of bold cocktails or even enjoy it as a sipper. Just like dark rum, you can even find white rum with distinctive flavors to sample in flavorful cocktails, like pina coladas.

The 20 Best Rums for Piña Coladas in 2023

I’ve shared my personal versatile list of the best white rums that include a hot of varieties. You can find any option, be it a sipper, a mixer for deep flavored cocktails like coladas, or a budget-friendly option.

1. Bacardi Carta Blanca Superior White Rum

 

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Puerto Rico

Size: 750ml

Price: $15.99

The Bacardi Carta Blanca Superior White Rum gives you incredible bang for your buck. In addition to its buyer-friendly price tag, the white rum packs superior taste notes and textures. In fact, this rum is popularized as the first mixable rum and is reported to inspire a cocktail evolution. 

While packing its own blend of beautiful flavors, this rum doesn’t overpower other ingredients in a cocktail, nor does it completely disappear when mixed. So, whether you want to add it to a classic like a mojito or craft your own DIY crisp cocktails, the white rum doesn’t disappoint. 

This superior white rum features a characteristic floral and fruity-tasting profile with delicious notes of orange blossom, lavender, rose, apricot, lime, light coconut, and ripe banana.

But, before you even take your first sip, the intoxicating floral and fruity nose alone is enough to impress you. On the other hand, the smooth and creamy palate effortlessly transitions to a clean, dry, and fresh finish.

2. Diplomatico Planas Rum

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Venezuela

Size: 750ml

Price: $40.99

The Diplomatico Planas Rum is a wonderful sipper worth splurging on. Aged for about 12 years in copper pot stills, this rum blend develops sophisticated flavors worth enjoying on their own without mixing with any other ingredients. 

A simple splash of water or a few ice rocks are enough to wake these delicious subtle flavors up. The rum blend develops a characteristic fruit cake, rum n raisin ice cream, cocoa, dried ginger, cinnamon, and clove nose.

When you take your first sip, you get inviting tasting notes of baked bananas with fudge sauce, chewy toffee, vanilla oak, syrup gingerbread, and hints of orange zest. 

On the palate, the flavors transition to chocolate sauce, sweet toffee, and tropical fruit, and finishes off with a dark chocolate orange sprinkle over melted vanilla ice cream. This premium sipper can only be described as deep and vivid with extremely seductively fragrant notes. 

3. Atlántico Rum Platino

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Dominican Republic

Size: 750ml

Price: $20.99

The Atlántico Rum Platino offers an ultra smooth option for drinkers that don’t want the harsh kick to their rum. Enjoyed as a sipper or mixer, this rum guarantees incredible flavors and smoothness. This Dominican rum is made using fresh cane juice and aged in old bourbon casks for a year. 

Further, it is finished in Spanish Tempranillo wine barrels for about 2 months. These steps allow the rum to develop its characteristic smooth finish and incredible depth of flavor.

You get clean and smooth notes of citrus and vanilla best enjoyed neat, on the rocks, or mixed in your favorite rum-based cocktail.

4. The Real McCoy Single Blended Rum

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Barbados

Size: 750ml

Price: $20.99

If you want to sample the best rum flavors, the Bajan Real McCoy Single Blended Rum is a fantastic option. The rum’s stellar reputation is reflected in its name which stems from the prohibition era. During this time, the pioneer rum runner perfected his skill and maintained a high standard of quality. 

Due to this, his product came to be known as the Real McCoy – to date, it has maintained this reputation. While technically dark, this rum is made by blending rum from twin-column Coffey still with rum from a copper pot still. While the Coffey still produces a light-flavored distillate, the pot still produces heavy flavorful rum. 

Combined, the blend gives the rum its balanced flavors.  The rum is also aged in oak bourbon casks for up to 3 years to develop its natural smoothness with subtle spice, wood notes, and bright floral overtones. Additionally, the aged rum is charcoal filtration process removes the color to give it its white rum look.

But, this process doesn’t strip off its amazing flavors. Whether you sip on it or add it to a cocktail, you will not miss out on the delicious caramel, spice, banana, and coconut notes. 

5. Don Q Cristal

 

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Puerto Rico

Size: 750ml

Price: $14.99

Don Q Cristal is an outstanding substitute for drinkers that also love vodka. In fact, you can use this Puerto Rican rum as a substitute mixer for popular drinks such as Collins. However, its subtle flavors also make it great for classic rum cocktails, such as mojitos or daiquiri. 

Don Q Cristal goes through a unique distillation process, involving multiple distillation systems. This, in turn, provides a cleaner, more refined, and even more delicate flavor profile. The refined taste is ultra smooth that you would think you are drinking a high-end vodka. 

As if this is not enough, to further smoothen the taste, the rum is aged in American white oak barrels for about 1.5 to 5 years. Ultimately, the rum develops a vodka-like nose with a hint of lemon and alcohol.

On the other hand, it has a sweet profile that is more sugary rather than fruity. While it’s light, it has a dry and slightly harsh charcoal finish that lingers on slightly longer.

6. Plantation 3 Stars White Rum

Alcohol content: 41.2% ABV/82.4S Proof

Origin: Barbados

Size: 750ml

Price: $20.99

The Plantation 3 Stars white Rum develops superior flavors with more assertiveness and depth to make it more than just a regular standard white rum mixer. The Bajan rum is ideal for cocktails, such as pina colada. 

The rum packs bold enough flavors or pina colada which is usually recommended to be made using dark rum. This is because the aged dark rum offers more depth of flavor and marries well with its ingredients.

The rum features a delicate nose with sweet notes of brown sugar, honey, and coffee bean. 

But, these notes transition to baking spices, vanilla, and cloves with more exposure to the air. On the palate, the rum has a biscuit but slightly bittersweet and light-bodied profile. It then finishes with round and supple notes of dark chocolate, root beer, and egg cream.

7. Rhum J.M. Agricole Blanc

Alcohol content: 50% ABV/100 US Proof

Origin: Martinique

Size: 750ml

Price: $36.99

The Rhum J.M. Agricole Blanc reflects Martinique’s incredible island terroir through its perfect flavors and texture. Unlike most rum, this particular rum’s sugar cane is harvested on the French island of Martinique.

Using rum from the island allows the rum to develop an oily lime zest and anise balance that complements its overall earthiness. 

 The rum also develops faint notes of citrus, banana, and caramel that pair incredibly well with cocktails like a daiquiri or craft cocktails.

Now, notice this particular rum is called Rhum Agricole as Martinique rum uses distilled sugar cane juices instead of the usual molasses. This particular Rhum Agricole can also be enjoyed on its own over ice rocks.

8. El Dorado 3-Year White Rum

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Guyana 

Size: 750ml

Price: $19.99

El Dorado 3-Year White Rum develops an incredible depth of flavor to add more character to classic cocktails, such as mojito. The Guyanese rum develops a rich depth from its 3-year aging while its filtration adds to the crisp that pairs well with the mint in a mojito. 

When you take your first sip of the rum, you get sweet cane sugar and lemon or orange peel forward notes that transition to slightly bittersweet and slightly tannic tropical fruit and berries. The white rum finishes off with hints of cacao and bitter molasses.

9. Havana Club Anejo Blanco

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Puerto Rico

Size: 750ml

Price: $21.99

For the perfect mojito, the Havana Club Anejo Blanco is a perfect mixer. This anejo rum is distilled and aged in Puerto Rico using oak barrels left out in the Caribbean sun for about a year. To develop its distinctive flavors, the rum features a blend of different aged rums combined.  

After combining the rum, the blend is aged in second oak barrels for at least 2 months. As a result, you get medium-bodied white rum with sweet notes of pineapple, banana, vanilla, and oak. 

10. Captain Morgan White Rum

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Jamaica

Size: 750ml

Price: $15.99

Captain Morgan White Rum was made for classic rum cocktails, like Cuba libre, mojito, or rum and coke. A dash of cola or ginger ale is enough to wake up the flavors of this incredible Caribbean rum. The Jamaican rum features a medium body with clean and crisp characteristics. 

On the palate, you also get a smooth, slightly sweet, and creamy mouth feel. Captain Morgan is sweet white rum with decadent tasting notes of sweet pear, banana, pineapple, and sweet syrup.

11. Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum

Alcohol content: 63% ABV/126 US Proof

Origin: Jamaica

Size: 750ml

Price: $32.99

The Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum is among the best overproof white rums on the market. The overproof rum packs an incredible boozy kick that is complemented by subtle flavors. You can enjoy it straight or as a mixer in cocktails, like punch or mai tai. 

This iconic Jamaican overproof white rum has been handcrafted in the Nassau Valley for over 2 centuries in small batches and unaged to achieve its overproof standard.

On the palate, the white rum gets dry and grassy and transitions to sweet notes of vanilla, banana, coconut, and molasses with every sip.

 The rum also offers a long and spiced finish. While it has an alcoholic punch to it, this rum is an excellent sipper. 

12. Probitas Blended White Rum

Alcohol content: 47 % ABV/94 US Proof

Origin: Barbados and Jamaica

Size: 750ml

Price: $31.99

The Probitas Blended white Rum combines Jamaican and Bajan rums combined to form this sophisticated flavor and texture.

The rum uses three distinctive rums, namely, a 2yr tropically aged Four Square pot still rum, unaged Foursquare Coffey column still rum, and unaged Hampden Estate pot still rum.

The rum boasts a creamy nose with custard, vanilla, citrus, and fresh tropical fruit notes.

On the other hand, every sip leaves a full texture and oily mouthfeel with sweet notes of molasses, kola nut, marshmallow, banana, and guava. 

Unlike regular white rum, this collaboration between Caribbean distilleries produces rum with an incredible depth of flavor to work great with many rum-based cocktails. This is the rum to go for if you are tired of neutral or near-neutral light rums.

13. Owney’s Original White Rum

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: New York

Size: 750ml

Price: $27.99

The Owney’s Original White Rum is one of the best white rums to be solely produced in the US. This American rum uses the highest quality, all-natural Louisiana and Florida-grown sugar cane molasses, a patented yeast strain, and filtered Newyork water.

After a long, cold fermentation and low rectification distillation process using pot column hybrid sills, a decadent flavored rum is produced. 

The rum is produced in small batches with zero additives to produce this blended rum. You will enjoy sweet-tasting notes of banana, spice, sugarcane, and butterscotch coupled with hints of vanilla and earth. The tasting profile also makes for a perfect Hemingway cocktail mixer. 

14. Flor de Cana 4 Extra Seco Rum

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Nicaragua

Size: 750ml

Price: $18.99

The light-bodied Flor de Cana 4 Extra Seco Rum is among the best white rums made in Latin America. The rum uses ingredients grown for the right conditions and processed perfectly to produce excellent rum.

The flavors from the rum make it the perfect mixer for refreshing classic cocktails. The rum is naturally aged in small white oak casks and sealed with plantain leaves for a unique natural flavor. 

This combined with the fertility of Nicaraguan soil and the volcanic climate the casks are exposed to during aging provides a smooth and rich rum flavor. You get exquisitely sweet notes of aromatic almonds, vanilla, white chocolate, and orange essence with a crisp dry finish.

15. Clairin Sajous Rhum Agricole

Alcohol content: 53.5% ABV/107 US Proof

Origin: Haiti

Size: 750ml

Price: $45.99

Clairin Sajous Rhum Agricole embodies the very essence and culture of Haiti. The rhum uses a multitude of organic sugar cane grown on the island to develop its incredible flavors.

It boasts fresh, herbaceous, and fruity-tasting notes to make it a great sipper and cocktail mixer alike. The rhum gives you a pleasant explosion of fresh apple, pickled herb, green olive, bee pollen white pepper, and honey notes on the nose. 

On the palate, the rhum also feels soft yet spicy with notes of cinnamon, tarragon, overripe bananas, and squishy apples before transitioning to dark notes of licorice, dark chocolate, and green herbs.

The finish is medium long and very clean with its own sweet green apple, green herb, anise, and cinnamon spice notes.

16. Cutwater Spirits White Rum

Alcohol content: 40 % ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: California

Size: 750ml

Price: $19.99

If you love crafted spirits, you will love Cutwater Spirits White Rum. The Cutwater Spirits brand is known for its pre-made ready to drink canned cocktails. However, it doesn’t disappoint in its spirits, either.

The white rum is made using cane sugar instead of molasses, embracing the new American rum crafting scene. The Californian-made rum boasts beautiful citrus, vanilla, and pepper notes, ideal to enjoy straight or mixed.

17. Ten To One White Rum

Alcohol content: 45 % ABV/90 US Proof

Origin: Dominican Republic and Jamaica

Size: 750ml

Price: $33.99

The Ten to One White Rum combines a beautiful blend of Dominican column still and Jamaican pot still rum with zero flavors added. Additionally, the blended rum is finished in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. 

This rum blend achieves sweet and smooth-tasting notes of banana, grass, and citrus. In fact, the rum’s complex taste profile makes it perfect to enjoy on its own – neat, on the rocks, or with a splash of water.

18. Denizen Aged White Rum

 

Alcohol content: 40 % ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Trinidad and Jamaica

Size: 750ml

Price: $15.99

The Denizen Aged white Rum lets you enjoy an exquisite sipper without breaking an arm or leg. The rum features blends from Trinidad and Jamaica aged for up to 5 years in small bourbon oak barrels.

The blend is then charcoal filtered to remove the color, leaving behind clear rum. The rum achieves a spicy and dry profile with a slight sweetness and medium-long finish.

Ultimately, the rum’s crisp clean, and slight sweetness blends well with a splash of cola or mixed in tropical classic rum cocktails.

19. BATI 2yr Fijian Rum

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Fiji

Size: 750ml

Price: $21.99

The BATI 2yr Fijian Rum gets its incredible flavor from the island’s unique soil terroir. In addition to the rich soil, the rum’s flavor is influenced by its 2-year aging in white oak vats and coconut shell carbon filtration. 

The rum produced offers a buttery mouthfeel with subtle aromas and rich banana, spice, and vanilla notes. Unlike many white types of rum, the distinctive flavors make this Fijian rum ideal for cocktails, like pina coladas that require a mixer with flavor depth.

20. Tanduay Silver Rum

 

Alcohol content: 40% ABV/80 US Proof

Origin: Philippines

Size: 750ml

Price: $19.99

Tanduay Silver Rum is among the most unique rum produced, on the account of its origin alone. Nonetheless, this rum has been crafted in the region for over a century and a half.

It takes advantage of the Philippines’ volcanic soil and tropical climate during sugar cane growth, pairing with the 5-year aging process. 

As a result, you get a silky smooth, and elegant flavored spirit with sweet dried tropical fruit, vanilla, and toasted coconut notes. If you are not convinced enough, this rum has been ranked one of the best in the world with a double gold win. Add it to your favorite cocktail or enjoy it straight!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Bacardi A Good White Rum?

Bacardi is an excellent white rum, particularly for mixing with cocktails. This rum is the very first in the market crafted especially for mixing in cocktails. 

Which Rum Is The Smoothest?

Atlántico Rum Platino is among the smoothest white rum on the market. Made from fresh cane sugar juice and aged for a year in old bourbon casks, the Dominican rum develops a smooth profile. You can enjoy it straight or as a cocktail mixer.

Conclusion

With any of the best white rum for pina colada cocktails above, there’s always the right drink for the right occasion. Whether a sipper or mixer, a splurge, or an affordable spirit, these 20 recommendations above cater to any drinker’s needs. 

Our all-time favorite for cocktails is the Bacardi White Rum. But, if you want more flavor depth for the likes of pina coladas, Plantain 3 Star white Rum is a good option. The Diplomatico Rum Reserva is a great sipper and so is the Denizen Aged white Rum, if you are on a tight budget.

Chad Smith

Meet Chad Smith, a seasoned bartender with a passion for mixology. He's the founder of Tin Roof Drink Community, a blog where he shares expert tips, creative recipes, and fosters a vibrant community of cocktail enthusiasts and aspiring bartenders. Join Chad as he takes you on a flavorful journey through the world of drinks. Cheers!

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