Spiced rum is aged rum steeped or blended with spices — vanilla, cinnamon, clove and citrus peel — and the category runs from a $18.99 home-bar staple to a 94-proof black rum and a five-year-old Saint Lucia blend spiced with botanicals macerated for up to a year. At Del Mesa Liquor, our family-owned store in San Diego, California, the rum collection shelves all five bottles below — in stock and available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
The Classics: Captain Morgan and the Kraken
Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum ($18.99) is the default spiced rum of home bars everywhere: a 35% ABV (70 proof) Caribbean blend from Diageo, made from molasses-based rum distilled in a continuous still and aged in oak for up to a year before the spice blend is added, named for the 17th-century privateer Sir Henry Morgan. Kraken Black Spiced Rum ($25.99) does the opposite of light and sweet: imported Caribbean black rum blended with a secret mix of spices and bottled at a full 47% ABV (94 proof) — dark as squid ink, poured from a Victorian-style flagon with twin handles, and named for the mythical sea beast. Set both beside the unspiced end of the shelf in our estate rum guide.
The Bottles in Stock
- Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum — $18.99. 750mL, 35% ABV (70 proof). Caribbean rum aged in oak up to a year, then blended with warming spice.
- Kraken Black Spiced Rum — $25.99. 750mL, 47% ABV (94 proof). Black spiced rum in the twin-handled flagon — the strongest pour in this lineup.
- Chairman's Reserve Spiced Original Saint Lucia Rum — $32.99. 750mL, 40% ABV (80 proof). A roughly five-year-old pot and Coffey still blend, steeped with real botanicals.
- Bumbu The Original Rum — $38.99. 750mL, 35% ABV (70 proof). Barbados rum aged up to 15 years in once-used Kentucky bourbon barrels, with all-natural spices.
- Koloa Kaua'i Spiced Rum — $39.99. 750mL, 44% ABV (88 proof). Hawaiian cane-sugar rum, twice distilled in a vintage copper pot still — a drier, more adult spice.
Real Rum, Real Spice: Saint Lucia, Barbados and Kauai
Chairman's Reserve Spiced ($32.99) is the spiced rum for people who like rum: it starts from Chairman's Reserve Original, an average-five-year blend of copper pot and Coffey still rums aged in ex-bourbon American white oak at St. Lucia Distillers, then steeps it with Bois Bandé, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, allspice and lemon and orange peel — some botanicals macerating for months, others up to a year. Bumbu The Original ($38.99) is distilled and blended in Barbados at the West Indies Rum Distillery (est. 1893), aged up to 15 years in once-used Kentucky bourbon barrels and flavoured with all-natural spices — no artificial colours or flavours. Koloa Kaua'i Spiced Rum ($39.99) comes from Kauai, Hawaii: pure cane sugar, twice distilled in a vintage 1,210-gallon steam-powered copper pot still and cut with rainwater filtered from Mount Wai'ale'ale, at 88 proof with a deliberately drier profile. For the cane-juice tradition, read our rhum agricole guide; spiced bottles also earn their place in the gift sets collection, with answers on the FAQ page and more reading on the blog index.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is spiced rum made from?
Spiced rum starts as rum — usually molasses-based — that is aged and then blended or steeped with spices and botanicals such as vanilla, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice and citrus peel. Chairman's Reserve Spiced, for example, steeps its five-year-old Saint Lucia blend with Bois Bandé, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, allspice and lemon and orange peel.
What is the strongest spiced rum?
Of the bottles in this guide, Kraken Black Spiced Rum is the strongest at 47% ABV (94 proof), followed by Koloa Kaua'i Spiced Rum at 44% ABV (88 proof) and Chairman's Reserve Spiced at 40% ABV (80 proof). Captain Morgan Original and Bumbu The Original are both bottled at 35% ABV (70 proof).
What mixes well with spiced rum?
Spiced rum is built for cola, ginger beer and dark-and-stormy style highballs, where its vanilla and baking spice carry through dilution. Higher-proof spiced rums like the Kraken at 94 proof also hold up in tiki drinks and rum punches; a drier spiced rum like Koloa's 88-proof bottling sips well over a large cube.
Where can I buy spiced rum online?
Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, California stocks Captain Morgan Original, Kraken Black, Chairman's Reserve Spiced, Bumbu The Original and Koloa Kaua'i Spiced Rum, all available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor with nationwide shipping where permitted.