What are the top-rated dark rums in the market?
There is no official ranking of dark rums, and the Drinks International 2025 poll of 100 top bars does not split dark from other rum. Its bestsellers are Bacardi (house pour in 20% of bars), Havana Club (15%), Planteray, Appleton Estate and Diplomático; Planteray is the top trending rum. Choose by taste.
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In this article
The short answer: no official source ranks dark rums, and the best poll we found does not separate dark from other rum. It shows which rums bars sell most: Bacardi first, then Havana Club, Planteray, Appleton Estate and Diplomático.
Contents
What the bar poll says
Drinks International asks bar owners and head bartenders at 100 leading bars to rank their three bestsellers. For rum in 2025, Bacardi topped the list for the seventh year running and was the house pour in 20% of bars.
| Rank | Brand | Detail from the report |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bacardi | House pour in 20% of bars |
| 2 | Havana Club | House pour in 15%, top three in 34% |
| 3 | Planteray | Top three in 30%; top trending rum of 2025 |
| 4 | Appleton Estate | Top three in 18%; rose from 2024 |
| 5-6 | Diplomático, Eminente | Listed; Eminente is new for 2025 |
The report has no separate dark or aged list, so we do not claim which of these are “dark rum”. Sales in bars also do not measure taste.
How to choose
These steps are our advice, not an agency rule.
- Decide how you will drink it: neat, with ice or in a cocktail.
- Look at the label for the style and the strength (ABV).
- Try one popular bottle from the table and compare.
Calories, strength and units
USDA lists 80-proof (40%) rum at 231 kcal and no sugar per 100 g. A 1.5 oz shot (42 g) is about 97 kcal.
Volume: 44 ml
x ABV 40% = 17.6 ml of pure alcohol
17.6 ml / 10 ml per unit
= 1.8 UK units
The NHS advises no more than 14 units a week. Check your own bottle with our calories, sugar and units tool, the units calculator or the ABV and proof converter.
Conclusion
Bacardi, Havana Club, Planteray and Appleton Estate are the rum names bartenders sell most in the 2025 poll. No source crowns a best dark rum, so pick a bottle, taste it and keep within the NHS limit.
General information, not medical advice. The WHO says no level of alcohol is free of health risk. This page is not an invitation to drink, and it is not a guide to whether you can drive.
Does US law define dark rum?
No. The US federal rule for rum (27 CFR 5.147) defines rum as a spirit made from sugar cane inputs such as fermented juice, syrup, molasses or other by-products, distilled below 95% alcohol by volume, with the taste and aroma generally attributed to rum, and bottled at not less than 40% ABV (80 proof).
The text names only one type, cachaça, a distinctive product of Brazil. It does not mention color, caramel coloring, aging, or any dark, light or gold category, so “dark rum” on a label is not a legal class in this rule. Check the label for the maker’s own description.
What are the kinds of dark rum, and is demerara rum a dark rum?
We found no official source that lists types, kinds or examples of dark rum, or that compares demerara rum with dark rum. The US rule above does not mention demerara either. So we cannot say how they differ, and we do not guess. The brands in the bar poll above are examples of rums that sell well, not a list of dark rums.
What is a smooth or good dark rum for sipping?
Smoothness and taste are personal, and no agency measures them. We found no official source that ranks dark rums for sipping, so we name no best bottle. The only fixed point is strength: a US rum must be at least 40% ABV, which is the same as the USDA 80-proof entry used above.
People also ask
What is the best dark rum?
We found no official ranking of dark rum. In the 2025 bar poll the bestselling rums are Bacardi, Havana Club, Planteray, Appleton Estate and Diplomático. Taste decides.
What is the most popular rum?
Bacardi topped the Drinks International rum list for the seventh year running (house pour in 20% of polled bars). Havana Club was second.
Which rum is trending?
Planteray was named the top trending rum for 2025.
How many calories are in rum?
USDA lists 80-proof rum at 231 kcal per 100 g, about 97 kcal in a 1.5 oz shot, with no sugar. Spiced and flavoured rums may differ; check the label.
Is dark rum a legal category?
Not in the US federal rum rule we read (27 CFR 5.147). It defines rum and cachaça only and does not mention color, aging, or dark, light or gold rum.
What are the kinds of dark rum?
We found no official source that lists kinds or types of dark rum, and the US rum rule does not mention a dark category, so we name none.
What is the difference between demerara rum and dark rum?
We found no official source that defines or compares them, and the US rum rule does not mention demerara, so we make no claim.
Sources
- Drinks International: Brands Report 2025, Rum (bar poll)
- USDA FoodData Central: Alcoholic beverage, distilled, rum, 80 proof (174817)
- WHO: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (4 January 2023)
- NHS: Calculating alcohol units (14 units a week)
- Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute (US Code of Federal Regulations): 27 CFR 5.147 Rum, read 5 Nov 2026
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