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Not every great spirit comes from Scotland. Some of the most exciting bottles were aged under the Caribbean sun or in the cellars of south-west France, and they’re often overlooked simply because they aren’t whisky.
Aged rum and fine cognac give you everything a good dram does: years in oak, real depth and a good story behind every bottle. They also bring something whisky can’t. Think tropical fruit and molasses from Barbados, the famous ‘funk’ – intensely complex and fruity flavour profiles – of Jamaican pot stills, or the dried fig and old leather of a cognac that has rested for decades.
If you’ve never quite taken to whisky or simply fancy a change, here are five rums and five cognacs to try next. We’ll start with a bottle we’ve been waiting a long time for…
Rum is made across the Caribbean, and every island has its own style. These rums take you from Barbados to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad, from an easy first sip to one of the rarest rums we’ve ever stocked.
Mount Gay has been making rum in St Lucy, Barbados, since 1703, which makes it the oldest running rum distillery in the world. In more than 320 years, it had never put an age statement on its rum. This 15 Year Old changes that. It’s part of the new Exceptionally Aged Collection, the first Mount Gay rums to state their age on the label, and Batch 001 is the very first release.
Price : £77.00
It has spent at least 15 years in ex-bourbon casks in the Barbados heat, where rum ages far faster than whisky does in Scotland. Nothing has been added: no sugar, no flavouring and no chill filtration.
In the glass, you’ll find grapefruit, banana, buttery pastry and caramel on the nose. The palate brings butterscotch, vanilla, orange zest, cocoa nibs and red plum, with a hint of sea salt that’s a nod to its island home.
Who will love it: bourbon drinkers, first and foremost, as those ex-bourbon casks bring the vanilla and caramel they already enjoy. And at £77 for a 15-year-old spirit from the world’s oldest rum distillery, it’s a bottle that’s hard to beat on value.
Doorly’s is made at the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados, one of the most respected names in rum. This 12 Year Old is matured in a mix of ex-bourbon casks and Madeira barrels. The bourbon casks bring fruit and vanilla, while the Madeira adds a rich, natural sweetness.
Price : £51.00
Who will love it: anyone new to sipping rum, and whisky drinkers who enjoy a wine-cask finish. It’s also an easy bottle to share, as it’s smooth enough to win round friends who think rum is only for cocktails.
Brugal ages this rum first in ex-bourbon casks under the Dominican sun, then moves it into American oak sherry casks. Next comes the clever part. The casks are emptied, toasted within minutes while the staves are still soaked in rum, then refilled straight away. The toasting creates pockets of caramel in the wood, which the rum draws in as it rests. The result is smooth and rounded, with a natural sweetness and plenty of complexity.
Price : £149.00
Who will love it: fans of sherry-cask whisky. If you reach for a richly sherried Speyside, this is the rum to try next.
Hampden is famous for one thing: ‘funk’, also known historically as hogo or haut goût, that refers to the intensely pungent, earthy, and overripe-fruity flavour and aroma profile found primarily in traditional pot-still rums.
This Jamaican distillery adds ‘dunder’, the leftovers from previous distillations, to its ferments, which creates a high concentration of acids and a wild, intensely fruity character. Distilled in 2013 in a pot still, and with six years spent ageing in the tropics in American oak, this rum was bottled in 2023 at full cask strength.
Price : £145.00
Who will love it: whisky drinkers who like bold flavours, such as Islay, Campbeltown and cask-strength drams. At 66.8% ABV, add a few drops of water and watch it open up.
Caroni is a ghost distillery in Trinidad. It closed in 2002, so every bottle that remains is a little piece of rum history, and collectors treat it much like whisky fans treat a lost Scotch distillery. This release brings together rare casks aged for 25 years, bottled at full cask strength by two independent bottlers working together on the Manta Ray Genesis series. It’s the classic Caroni style: intense, powerful and unforgettable.
Price : £895.00
Who will love it: collectors, and anyone who has ever hunted down a closed-distillery whisky. We have just one bottle.
Cognac is a protected high-grade brandy made from grapes grown in a defined region around the town of Cognac in south-west France, then aged in French oak. Two words on the label tell you a lot:
Tesseron is a family-run house that has been building its collection of old cognacs since the end of the 19th century. Its oldest eaux-de-vie rest in a 12th-century crypt. Lot 53 is a blend of some of its best Grande Champagne cognacs, with plum, fig and chocolate, and a fresh lift on the finish.
Price: £305
Who will love it: anyone stepping into fine cognac for the first time. It shows exactly what a great XO can be, without needing a special occasion to open it.
This blend of Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie is aged between 10 and 50 years and balances youthful fruit with the deep, savoury character cognac lovers call rancio. Expect buttered brioche, peach, candied orange and white chocolate on the nose, then pear drops, white peach, kiwi and griddled pineapple, with a flicker of white pepper. The finish turns to leather and dark cherry. It comes in a Baroque-inspired decanter.
Price: £360
Who will love it: fans of fruity, tropical whiskies, and anyone who wants a bottle that looks as good on the table as it tastes.
Leyrat doesn’t put an age on Glory Extra, but the casks that go into it are said to be at least 40 years old. Bottled at a slightly higher strength of 45% ABV and presented in an elegant decanter, it’s a cognac made with gifting in mind.
Price: £400
Who will love it: someone who already knows and loves cognac, and appreciates very old spirit without paying vintage prices.
A single-vintage cognac from 1960 is a rare thing, and this one has huge personality. The nose brings tobacco, sour plum, liquorice, sandalwood and roasted coffee. Dark chocolate arrives first on the palate, followed by liquorice, marzipan, kumquat and turmeric, with drier rancio notes building as it opens.
Price: £620
Who will love it: drinkers who like big, savoury flavours, such as old sherried whisky or a peated malt with age. It also makes a remarkable gift for anyone born in or around 1960.
Louis XIII is one of the most famous cognacs in the world, blended from up to 1,200 Grande Champagne eaux-de-vie, some aged for up to a century. This bottle was released in the 1970s, in the brand’s Baccarat crystal decanter. Candied orange peel, jasmine and toasted almond lead into dried fig, honey and rich vanilla, grounded by old leather and antique oak.
Price: £2,180
Who will love it: the serious collector, or someone marking a once-in-a-lifetime moment. We have just one bottle.
If you already know what whisky you like, start there. Rum tends to be richer and sweeter, with tropical fruit, molasses and spice. Cognac is usually softer and more elegant, with orchard fruit, flowers and, in older bottles, deep savoury notes. Use the table below to find your match.
Still not sure? Visit us in Knightsbridge and our team will help you find your new favourite.
An aged, unsweetened sipping rum is the best rum for whisky drinkers. Mount Gay 15 Year Old is a good place to start, as it’s aged in ex-bourbon casks and has no added sugar, so it shares much of the vanilla and caramel character of bourbon. If you prefer peated or cask-strength whisky, try a funky Jamaican rum such as Hampden.
Doorly’s 12 Year Old at £51 and Mount Gay 15 Year Old at £77 are both excellent aged rums from Barbados. Doorly’s is rich and smooth from its Madeira casks. Mount Gay is fruitier, with butterscotch, orange zest and a hint of sea salt.
Yes. Mount Gay has been distilling in Barbados since 1703, making it the oldest running rum distillery in the world. The 15 Year Old Exceptionally Aged is its first age-stated rum, aged for at least 15 years in ex-bourbon casks with nothing added.
Rum is distilled from sugar cane, usually molasses, and is made mainly in the Caribbean and Latin America. Cognac is a brandy distilled from grapes grown in the Cognac region of France and aged in French oak. Rum tends to be richer and sweeter, while cognac is generally softer, more floral and fruit-led.
XO stands for ‘extra old’. Every eau-de-vie in an XO cognac must have been aged for at least 10 years, though many, like L’Époque Baroque XO, contain spirits aged for far longer.
Drink aged rum or cognac neat, at room temperature, in a tulip or tasting glass, just as you would a good whisky. With cask-strength bottles such as Hampden or Caroni, a few drops of water will open up more flavour.
Whisky will always have a place on our shelves, but it’s far from the only spirit worth savouring. Explore our collection of premium rums and rare cognacs to find a new flavour to savour – ideal for gifting this Christmas.
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