Whiskey is a standard Christmas present, but if you want to step outside the grain, try giving one of these five rums. Each is still good for sipping but will remind the recipient of a sandy vacation instead of a snowy driveway. Either way they’ll appreciate you giving them booze instead of whatever half-assed idea you had but were too lazy to pull off.
This double barreled shotgun blast to your pleasure sensors is the ideal sipping rum. It’s aged in American oak barrels to impart a bit of smokiness then sherry casks to bring in the sweetness. Caution, the entire bottle might be gone before the Christmas presents are done being opened.
Reading is for losers, but toasting to a literary legend is a different story. Help someone drink in the essence of Ernest Hemingway with Papa’s Pilar rum. Both the white and dark are a delicious addition to any adventurer’s bar.
Mount Gay Black Barrel
Mount Gay is the oldest rum refinery in the world, but the times are a changin’. Their new Black Barrel is meant to ensnare bourbon lovers and drag them down to Barbados to enjoy the island life. It’s the perfect winter sipper for the bourbon lover in your life.
This is the rummiest offering on the list, with all the signature tropical flavors you know and love. It spends time in new charred oak barrels though which imparts oak into the spirit and cuts the sweetness. It’s a match made in $22 heaven.
Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Year Old
Zacapa is made from crushed sugar cane instead of molasses and then aged in a “House Above the Clouds.” If that doesn’t make it unique enough to buy, it’s also one of the best rums on which I’ve sipped. Zacapa deserves one giant ice cube and your undivided attention.