Top 10 award-winning rums
As demonstrated by The Rum & Cachaça Masters 2026, exceptional spirits can be found anywhere, from the Caribbean and South America to England and beyond.
Rum has evolved from its links to the navy and pirates, with the category now recognised for its authenticity and provenance.
Rum is positioned to adapt to evolving consumer demands and trends, while producers build their brands on heritage, innovation, and storytelling. The rise in new brands on the global market indicates that rum enthusiasts are continually eager to explore new terroirs and high-quality spirits.
For the sugar cane-fuelled category of The Global Spirits Masters Competitions (GSMC), a panel of independent judges assembled to sample some of the finest rums and cane spirits from around the world at the Novotel London Bridge Hotel, in the English capital.
Below, we have compiled 10 entrants that secured medals at The Rum & Cachaça Masters 2026 blind tastings, ranging from tropical white cocktail knights to majestic mahogany royalty.
AnnaBay Club Aged 5 Years
AnnaBay Club is inspired by an old 17th century recipe created by a barkeeper that was later found in the Penha building in St Annabay, a coastal town on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The oldest expression in the brand’s core range is made from molasses, distilled in both column and pot stills, and aged for a minimum of five years on the tropical island.
At the blind tasting, AnnaBay Club Aged 5 Years won a Gold medal, impressing the judges with its “old-school, funky, moreish, and zesty” character. The panel noted that the rum featured notes of sweet vanilla, sugarcane juice, dates, golden syrup, raisins, and a light spice, along with a hint of tinned pineapple. With an ABV of 40%, the expression was described as “a good example of flavour balance, with a lingering finish and a solid balance between sweet and spice.”
Rum Quimbaya Artisanal Terroir Quilichao
This artisanal rum pays tribute to the indigenous Colombian people of the Quimbaya. The brand sources sugar cane from various regions of Colombia, which is then distilled and aged by skilled artisans in its place of origin, resulting in a unique range of exclusive rums aged in French oak barrels.
With an ABV of 40.7%, Quimbaya’s Gold medal-winning special edition showcases the distinctive mountainous terroir of Santander de Quilichao, located in Colombia’s Cauca region. Judges at the tasting recognised its “unusual, funky, and fruity” character, praising its craftsmanship, well-integrated complexity, “luxurious texture”, and balance.
One judge remarked: “The palate offers notes of overripe tropical fruits, bananas, mango, and gentle spice. There’s an almost bready element to the palate, and it keeps evolving. Lovely flavour profile; very skillfully made.”
Black Tears Aguardiente
Island Rum Brand’s Black Tears Aguardiente celebrates the essence of the Cuban spirit. The spirit is made with sugar cane sourced from four mills in Ciego de Ávila, near the centre of the island, and distilled in copper column stills. The brand name is inspired by Lágrimas Negras, a Cuban song about love and heartbreak that tells the story of a woman whose sorrow spills into a vat of rum, filling it with raw emotion.
Receiving a Gold medal in the cane spirit and cachaça category, Black Tears Aguardiente stood out with its “sweet and creamy nose with plenty of grassy notes, cane influence, and funky, salty freshness.” The palate was described as “pleasant and warming, with nice hints of tropical fruits and a good intensity and balance.”
The premium aguardiente is the perfect spirit for a Cuban Caipirinha.
Ron Viejo de Caldas Carta de Oro
Ron Viejo de Caldas, from Industria Licorera de Caldas, is another award-winning rum from Colombia that caught the attention of the tasting panel. The rum is produced more than 2,200 metres above sea level in the Andes and aged in a cool, stable mountain climate far from the coast, resulting in slow maturation.
The brand’s Carta de Oro, or should we say ‘gold card’, is an eight-year-old gold rum with a deep mahogany colour and 40% ABV. The rum received a Silver medal at the Masters for its approachability, showcasing “a light, delicate nose and palate with sweet tropical and floral notes.”
As the brand embarks on its global expansion, consumers in North America and Europe, including Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, will soon get to experience Ron Viejo de Caldas’ rums firsthand.
Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Nassau Valley Casks
The Taste Master and Master medal winner of The Rum & Cachaça Masters 2026 represents one of the most recognisable names in Jamaican rum. Appleton Estate brought its A-game to the awards with its oldest core range expression: an ultra-premium 21-year-old rum aged in casks from the distillery’s home in Nassau Valley.
Created by master blender Joy Spence, the rum clocks in at 43% ABV, with a Mahogany hue and an olive-green ring of age.
The expression took home the top marks, with an aroma reminiscent of “the inside of a warehouse”, with “almost savoury and balsamic nuances of tomato and white pepper”, and a “modern funky” character.
“The palate features a pleasing balance of sweetness, with enticing notes of dark toffee, cherry Bakewell, raisins, chocolate, and a hint of spice, culminating in a chilli heat on the finish,” the judges noted. “This is a unique rum, far from the norm. While it would complement other ingredients in a cocktail, there’s truly no need to mix it; it’s delightful on its own.”
DropWorks Clear Drop
Representing the ‘largest’ European rum distillery, DropWorks English rums gathered two Master and two Gold medals at this year’s competition.
The distillery’s inaugural spirit, Clear Drop, landed in May 2023 and is crafted using a pioneering distillation process. DropWorks utilises its own yeast, along with a unique strain called Trinity Yeast, ‘the world’s first’ three-strain symbiotic yeast. The expression is produced from a blend of hybrid molasses, fermented and blended on-site. Finally, the spirit is distilled using three custom-made stills, including a double retort still, and bottled unaged at 40% ABV.
Judges praised the Master medal-winning rum for its complex and “very funky aroma,” characterised by “high esters, lots of character, overripe fruits, and green banana.” On the palate, Clear Drop was described as “more approachable than the aroma would suggest,” offering a balanced blend of “grassy, tropical umami, high saline minerality, tropical fruits, sugarcane sweetness, and light spice.”
While, Lewis Hayes, founder and owner of DropWorks, says the rum was crafted primarily for cocktails, it is also said to be a tasty treat on its own.
Takamaka Overproof Rum
Family-owned Trois Freres Distillery on the main island of Seychelles in the Indian Ocean has gained recognition in the global market since its founding in 2002. The distillery’s molasses-based overproof white rum is column-distilled and lightly diluted with water to preserve the raw spirit of Takamaka.
Takamaka Overproof Rum stood out in its category, boasting aromas of “spicy, sweet vanilla, and lime zest,” not overshadowed by its high ABV of 69%.
The judges praised the Master medal winner, noting: “There is a creaminess to the palate. It features dry spice, stone fruits, and apple, along with a silky texture. This bold, complex, and well-crafted spirit is a very interesting overproof rum. I believe bartenders would have a great time experimenting with it.”
Havana Club Original Añejo 3 Años
Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club rum has been a well-known advocate for Cuban rums and cocktail culture for more than 100 years, making it a favourite among bartenders worldwide. One of the brand’s best-selling expressions, Havana Club Original Añejo 3 Años, won a Master medal at this year’s competition. The golden, straw-coloured, aged white rum is made entirely in Cuba from local sugarcane molasses and has become an essential ingredient in classic Cuban cocktails.
The judging panel praised the rum, stating it embodies “everything you want from a genteel white rum with some age.” They highlighted its character, elegance, balance, and excellent texture as standout qualities.
Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve
Situated 1,200 feet above sea level in Lluidas Vale, St Catherine in the heart of Jamaica, Worthy Park Estate is one of the island’s oldest rum producers, with first records of distillation dating back to 1741. After decades of silence, the estate resumed production when a state-of-the-art distillery was built in 2005.
In 2017, Worthy Park launched the Single Estate Reserve at 45% ABV, marking a new era for the distillery as its first expression under the Worthy Park name. The rum is produced exclusively at the estate and is a blend of 100% copper pot still rums, aged between six and 10 years in American white oak ex-Bourbon barrels.
Earning a Master medal, the Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve distinguished itself at the tasting with its aromas of “icing sugar and creamy vanilla cake.” Judges praised the rum as ” well-rounded and deeply complex, with lingering notes of rich fruit flavours reminiscent of raisins and Christmas cake.”
Angostura Founders Reserve 1824
The flagship rum from Trinidad & Tobago-based Angostura is a hand-crafted blend of mature rums aged in charred oak barrels. Named after the year the distillery was founded, Angostura Founders Reserve 1824 pays tribute to the estate’s rich heritage of more than 200 years.
At this year’s blind tasting, the premium Caribbean rum received a Master medal. Judges praised its layered and balanced flavour profile at 40% ABV, highlighting notes of “sweet vanilla, caramel, honey, dried oak spice, molasses, cinnamon, prunes, and a hint of coffee” on the palate.
The judges remarked: “This is a solidly made rum that’s worth the price point. It serves as a great example of a dark rum that isn’t artificially sweetened – the category needs more rums like this.”
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