Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The best rums for a fresh, flavorful mojito

Making a mojito? You're going to need a nice light rum, like one of these standout selections

Mojito on a bar ready to serve
Tatyana Vega / Unsplash

Summer is almost over, but there’s still time for thirst-quenching, flavorful, warm-weather cocktails. And when it comes to fresh, summery cocktails, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of a citrus-driven, herbal, refreshing mojito. As for drinks suited for the warmer months, very few are more balanced, flavorful, and memorable.

For those unaware, the mojito is a traditional Cuban punch made with white rum, granulated sugar, fresh lime juice, mint, and a soda water topper. It’s loaded with fruit rum, sweet sugary, herbal mint, and fresh lime flavors. To add to that, the soda water adds a refreshing effervescence to the drink.

Recommended Videos

But as with any cocktail, the base spirit is important. While you don’t have to spend a month’s mortgage to get the best rum for mojitos, you also can’t head directly for the bottom shelf. If you do, you’ll end up with an abrasive, foul-tasting waste of a great cocktail.

The best rum for mojitos

Mojito garnished with mint and limes
Alejandro Photography / Getty Images

The key is to purchase a well-made, reasonably priced white rum. Lucky for you, there are countless available on the market, and you don’t even have to find them because we did the work for you. Below, you’ll find the best rums for a fresh, flavorful mojito. Keep scrolling to see them all.

Bacardi Superior

Bacardi Superior White Rum
Bacardi

When it comes to the quality-to-value ratio, it’s difficult to beat the appeal of Bacardi Superior. Always reasonably priced, this mixing rum is matured in American oak barrels before being filtered through a blend of charcoal to remove color and impurities while smoothing out the flavor profile. A wonderful choice for a mojito, it’s known for its flavors of tropical fruits, nuts, and vanilla. All with a creamy, dry, memorable finish.

Ten to One White Rum

Ten To One Caribbean White Rum
Ten to One

There’s a reason Ten to One white rum is so popular among bartenders and rum drinkers alike. It’s a blend of column still distilled rum from the Dominican Republic and high-ester pot still distilled rum from Jamaica. An exceptional base for any cocktail (especially a mojito), it’s known for its flavors of honeysuckle, white pepper, lemon peels, and bright floral notes. It’s fresh, flavorful, and perfect for slow sipping or mixing.

Chairman’s Reserve White Rum

Chairman's Reserve White Rum
Chairman's Reserve

Chairman’s Reserve white rum is a great bargain mixing rum. It’s a blend of pot and column still rums with some aged and some unaged. The aged rum spent between two and three years maturing in ex-bourbon barrels before being charcoal filtered to remove coloring. This results in a complex, flavorful, highly mixable rum with notable flavors like sugarcane, toasted coconut, toasted marshmallows, caramelized pineapple, and citrus zest.

Don Q Cristal

Don Q Cristal Rum
Don Q

This award-winning rum is distilled multiple times, similar to the way your favorite premium vodka is made. But instead of just bottling it then, it’s matured between two and five years in American white oak barrels before being charcoal filtered. The result is a sweet, smooth, flavorful rum loaded with notes of spicy cinnamon candy, caramelized pineapple, tropical fruit, vanilla, and light woody oak. It’s a complex, balanced base for mojito. It’s the kind of rum that you’ll mix with once and it will earn a permanent spot on your home bar.

The Original Kōloa Kauaʻi White Rum

The Original Kōloa Kauaʻi White Rum
The Original Kōloa Kauaʻ

While the Caribbean is well known for its rums, it’s not the only place this spirit is made. Did you know there’s a memorable, mixable white rum made in Hawaii? The Original Kōloa Kauaʻi white rum is made using pure cane sugar. It’s distilled two times in vintage steam-powered copper pot stills before being proofed with filtered water from Mount Waiʻaleʻale. The result is a complex, balanced rum with notes of marshmallow, vanilla, citrus peels, candied ginger, and raw sugar.

Wray & Nephew White Rum

Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum
Wray & Nephew

If you were to take a poll of bartenders and rum aficionados and ask them to name the best mixable white rums, you’d get a lot of responses touting the appeal of Wray & Nephew white rum. This popular molasses-based rum is a blend of pot still-distilled and column still-distilled Jamaican rums. It’s a potent 63% ABV and highly mixable thanks to notes of molasses cookies, pineapple, ripe bananas, orange peels, honeysuckle, and vanilla beans.

Bottom line

A mojito cocktail sitting on the bar
Dan Baker / The Manual

If you’re a mojito drinker, you probably have one or two go-to white rums. But we implore you to broaden your horizons and try one (or more) of the above rums as well. Trying different rums is a great way to elevate your favorite tropical cocktail. Each of our picks was selected because of how well they complement the classic mojito flavors.

Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
J. Rieger & Co. announced the release of its most limited and rare whiskey ever
J. Rieger & Co. is releasing a Solera-aged whiskey
J. Rieger

Missouri-based distillery  J. Rieger & Co. just announced the launch of its most limited and rare whiskey ever made. It’s called the 2025 Monogram Kansas City Whiskey Solera Reserve, and it’s keeping the brand’s “Monogram” name (that was used for whiskeys in the pre-prohibition days) alive with an exceptional, new release that uses a timeless aging technique.
J. Rieger 2025 Monogram Kansas City Whiskey Solera Reserve

Crafted by Master Distiller Nathan Perry, Co-Founder Ryan Maybee, and an expert tasting panel, this limited release is made using a unique solera aging process. The 2025 expression is a blend of straight bourbon, straight rye, and light corn whiskey.

Read more
Pursuit Spirits is launching a rye whiskey finished in cognac barrels
Fans of podcast, whsikey, and uniquely-finished whiskeys will love this new release
Pursuit Spirits

If you like podcasts, whiskey, and unique barrels, you’ll be excited for the newest release from Pursuit Spirits. The brand, founded by the whiskey enthusiasts behind the popular Bourbon Pursuit podcast, is set to release a truly exciting rye whiskey finished in ex-cognac barrels.
Pursuit United Cognac Cask Rye

It’s called Pursuit United Cognac Cask Rye, and the newest addition to the Pursuit United lineup was created in partnership with Bardstown Bourbon Company and Sagamore Spirit. The rye whiskey is a blend of whiskey from the two popular distilleries. It consists of a 95% rye and 5% malted barley rye whiskey from Bardstown, a 52% rye, 43% corn, and 5% malted barley rye whiskey from Sagamore, as well as a 95% rye and 5% malted barley rye whiskey from Sagamore. The blend is matured between four and seven years before being finished in barrels that previously held XO cognac.

Read more
The best tips for grilling tri-tip like a backyard legend
Tender, juicy, and packed with flavor
grilled and sliced tri tip steak

I still remember the first time I tried to grill a tri-tip; I rushed it, flipped it too much, and ended up with meat that was somehow both dry and underdone. Since then, I’ve learned that tri-tip rewards a little patience and the right technique. If you’re aiming to impress with this flavorful cut, knowing how to treat it from start to finish makes all the difference. Whether you're using a charcoal grill or gas, these are the best tips for grilling tri-tip like a backyard legend — no gimmicks, just solid steps to help you get it right every single time.

1. Start with the right cut

Read more