Want to know which are the most expensive rum brands in the world? Believe it or not, the beverage of pirates can be quite costly. Mainly produced in the Caribbean, rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage that is made from sugarcane. Nowadays, most people have it neat or in cocktails like the piña colada or the mai tai. However, rum wasn’t only a means to have fun originally: in the 18th century the sailor’s daily ration of watered-down rum was mixed with citrus juice to help prevent scurvy , a disease resulting from a vitamin C deficiency.
If you are into the food and beverage industry you might want to check out our list on the 10 High Margin Food Products to Build a Business Around.
Let’s take a look at the countdown and find out which are the most expensive rum brands in the world.
9. Pyrat Rum
At the moment you can purchase a bottle of Pyrat Cask 1623 for $260, but as time goes by the price of this rum will surely increase. Apparently the factory stopped the production of this particular rum about five years ago, and the number of remaining bottles is uncertain.
8. Rhum Clément
With a 1952 rum, this brand is one of the most expensive in the world. What makes this $1200 rum blend so special is that it is the oldest Clement rum available that was produced in its original location: Le Francois, Martinique. Specialists claim that it has a fruity and spicy flavor.
7. Havana Club
This renowned rum brand is one of the oldest ones in the world, since it was established in 1878 in Cuba. Havana Club has a bottle that costs $1700: “Máximo Extra”. Introduced in 2006, this premium rum blend is extremely aged and has an alcohol content of 40%.
6. Bacardi
Since its foundation in 1862 in Cuba, Bacardi has become practically a synonym of rum. For the turn of the century the company decided to celebrate by producing a limited edition of 3,000 bottles, each one of them available for $700. Not only is the quality of this rum exquisite, but the presentation is also flawless: each Baccarat bottle comes with an authenticity certificate signed by Bacardi’s president himself. But Bacardi has an even more expensive bottle that costs $2000: Ron Bacardí de Maestros de Ron, Vintage, MMXII. This very special edition had only 1000 bottles produced.
5. British Royal Navy Imperial
At $3,000 a bottle, the British Royal Navy Imperial Rum is one of the priciest brands on Earth. The first time this rum was served to sailors was in 1655, in Jamaica. Over the years sailors and rum became inseparable, until its consumption was completely stopped on July, 31, 1970 –widely known as Black Tot Day. The final stores of the British naval rum were re-bottled in 2010; that’s why this rum is so special and so expensive.
4. Appleton Estate
This Jamaican rum company has been around since 1749. What makes Appleton Estate one of the most expensive rum brands in the world is its 50-year-old Jamaica Independence Reserve, which costs a staggering $6,630. When Jamaica became independent from England in 1962, Appleton decided to set aside several barrels of rum and let them age; these barrels where bottled 50 years later in 2012 to celebrate the island’s independence.
3. Harewood Rum
When the descendants of the Earl of Harewood found several old rum bottles in their cellar, they had them tested and later sold at auction. The 1780 rum was found to be distilled in Barbados, shipped in barrels and later bottle at Harewood. The bottles were sold at Christie’s at almost $11,000 each.
2. Angostura
Angostura is a brand best known for the invention and production of angostura bitter. Moreover, the company is the major rum producer in Trinidad and Tobago. Legacy is a super limited edition rum that Angostura released in 2013. Each of the 20 bottles amounts to $25,000.
1. J. Wray & Nephew
With a 1940’s bottle that costs $54,000 J. Wray & Nephew is the most expensive rum brand in the world. Made in Jamaica, the quality and age of this rum is really quite exceptional.
