I had my first visit to Puerto Rico late last fall and fell in love with the island’s cocktail culture — particularly, the local rums that fueled those amazing drinks.
“I believe Puerto Rico is the rum capital of the world,” says Nicky Fas, bar director for Pantera and Bambina in Caguas, PR. “Our rums are a very important part of our island’s culture and identity.”
Home to the Piña Colada (and its conflicting history) and accounting for 70% of the rum consumed in the United States, Puerto Rico offers a lot more than just Bacardi. Not that there’s anything wrong with that brand — there’s a reason it’s the largest rum producer in the world. But the country also offers a plethora of craft rum distilleries that deserve the same visibility.
I spoke with a dozen bartenders and drinks professionals about what makes Puerto Rican rum unique and got a few cocktail bar recommendations along the way (I sadly was only able to visit about a third of the bars mentioned below on my initial visit. Guess I’ll have to plan another trip).
A Quick History of Puerto Rican Rum
Rum production in Puerto Rico dates back to the 16th century, when sugarcane rootstocks were introduced to the island by Juan Ponce de Leon. And while several distilleries I’ll reference date back to the 1800s, it was Bacardi’s arrival in 1936 that helped define and popularize rum on the island. (Today, the company has operations in several countries but had its start in Cuba.)
There’s also a lesser-known historical moment that shaped the industry. “The industrialization of rum production in the early- to mid-20th century was defining,” says Roberto Berdecía, a co-founder of La Factoria, which has been getting a lot of “best bar” recognition in the cocktail world. “Puerto Rico became a global reference point for column-still rum, focusing on consistency, aging and export quality. This period cemented the island’s reputation as a producer of refined, world-class rum.”
What Makes Puerto Rican Rum Unique
To officially be a Puerto Rican rum (or a Ron de Puerto Rico), the spirit must be entirely produced and distilled in the country and aged for at least one year in wooden casks. “Some unofficial versions of the regulations also state a requirement to use molasses and column distillation, but these don’t appear in recent official regulations,” says Matt Pietrek, a spirits educator, author, rum brand adviser and founder of Rum Wonk, which is pretty much the authority on all things rum.
As for the style of Puerto Rican rum, it can be a little poetic. “Puerto Rican rum is sugarcane turned into song,” says Mario Pagán, chef and owner of the Mario Pagán Restauratn Group (La Central, MARO) and, previously, the culinary ambassador for Rums of Puerto Rico. “It begins with molasses — dark, mineral and sun-warmed — then passes through fire and copper and patience, until what’s left is something clean, generous and unmistakably ours. You taste the island in the balance: a bright lift of tropical fruit and citrus peel, a soft sweetness that never shouts and the slow, steady embrace of oak—vanilla, toasted caramel and a whisper of spice.”
What truly makes it special for Pagan, however, is that he’s able to utilize the island’s rums in his culinary endeavors. “In a kitchen, it’s a bridge between savory and sweet, between smoke and sugar, between tradition and the kind of creativity Puerto Rico is known for,” he says.
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Balance and refinement are adjectives that come up quite a bit when discussing rum from the island. “Puerto Rico’s signature is elegance and control,” says Aramis Castillo, bar director at MARO. “A lot of our rums lean clean and balanced, so instead of dominating a drink, they lift the aromatics and let the whole cocktail feel more precise.”
Comparatively, Jamaican rums lean more toward “funk” and high-ester intensity, while agricoles (like in Martinique/Guadaloupe) can be grassy and vegetal. “Our rum tends to be silky, crisp and blend-driven,” Castillo adds.
Puerto Rican Rums to Try
Sonrisa
Launched in 2024, Sonrisa (“smile”) has Bronx rapper Fat Joe as an investor, but this sipping rum goes beyond celebrity novelty. The award-winning brand offers three expressions: Platino, Oro Especial (Special Gold) and Reserva, a Gold Medal winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. One dollar of every bottle sold is donated to small business owners in Puerto Rico.
Rum Caray
Crafted at La Destileria Craft Spirits in Juncos (interestingly, home to Puerto Rico’s first gin), this small-batch rum has been available in the United States since last year. The coffee-accented Caray Cafe is a standout.
Ron del Barrilito
A historic rum producer in Bayamón, you’ll recognize this rum by its star system, ranging from two to five stars, which signify age and pricing, Tasting notes often mention dried fruits, vanilla, oak, spice and caramel with a smooth finish. “The use of sherry barrels and traditional maceration lends it a complexity that many describe as more akin to a fine spirit than a typical light rum,” says Carlos Borges, founder and co-owner of BarMuseo in Coamo. The expressions range from three to 35 years in age.
Trigo
Located in Bayamón, this distillery offers rums aged up to 12 years in hand-blown decanter bottles.
Ron Pepon
Launched in 2011 by San Juan Artisan Distillers, Ron Pepon is an outlier in the island’s rum community. “It’s the first agricole rum made in Puerto Rico,” says Edrick Colón, co-founder and beverage director of San Juan’s Identidad Cocktail Bar. “It’s based on cane juice and aged in pot stills, with freshly-cut sugarcane, mineral and sugar honey flavors.”
Bacardi
The world’s largest premium rum distillery is located in the town of Cataño. “It has a foundational Puerto Rican profile and is a big part of the Island’s rum story,” Pagán says. While offering a rather wide-range of rum styles, I highly recommend Bacardi Reserva Ocho, which is barrel-aged for a minimum of eight years and features a distinctive, velvety body with warming notes of butterscotch, nutmeg and dried apricots, followed by a gentle finish.
Don Q
Started in 1865, Don Q is the most popular rum in Puerto Rico. “It’s super bartender-friendly: versatile, dependable and great across styles,” Castillo says. If you’re looking for something elevated from the brand, try their new Don Q Double-Aged Pedro Ximénez Cask Finish Rum. Pietrek also suggests the 2007 single barrel release. “It’s one of the few rums I’ve stockpiled,” he says.
Rum-Centric Bars to Visit in Puerto Rico
You should probably start at La Casita de Rones, the flagship store/bar for the Rums of Puerto Rico organization. “It’s a space dedicated entirely to Puerto Rican rum, offering education, tastings and a deep dive into the island’s rum heritage,” Berdecía says. (And you should definitely follow up that visit with a trip to Berdecia’s bar La Factoria.) Some other San Juan recommended bars include Café El Batey (a historic dive bar), 173 Grados and Identidad Cocktail Bar, which was named “Best New Bar” in the 2025 James Beard Awards.
In the Santurce neighborhood, there’s JungleBird, Machete, Aurora and El Watusi. And if you’re traveling outside of San Juan, we’d recommend Bar Museo in Coamo, La Bibliotek Bar de libros in Jayuya, and Pantera and Bambina in Caguas.
If you’re looking for something cultural but also rum-based, the Serrallés Castle Museum in Ponce is a good place to learn about the origins of sugarcane and rum. And Flavors of San Juan Food and Culture Tours has a Rum Runners Craft Cocktail Tour, a guided walking tour through the streets and bars of San Juan.
A Few Occasions to Celebrate Puerto Rican Rum
The Puerto Rico International Rum Festival (March 28) offers up rum seminars and tastes of more than 200 rum expressions. The Puerto Rico Food & Wine Festival (April 23-26) features top local and international chefs, winemakers and mixologists. And Puerto Rico Cocktail Week 2026 (May 24-25) will offers seminars, guest shifts, drinks competitions and plenty of parties.
The Best Rum Cocktail to Order in Puerto Rico
While I swear on the Daiquiri or a rum Old Fashioned, most of the bartenders I spoke with had the same answer: Stick to the official drink of Puerto Rico. “To me, the Piña Colada is king,” says Yun Fuentes, chef and co-owner of Bolo, a Latin American restaurant and rum bar in Philadelphia and Puerto Rico native. “It expresses all of the tropical, island-inspired vibes anyone can desire. This cocktail always delivers a smile, and it’s a quintessential frozen drink that provides the nostalgia of a warm sunny day at the beach with family and friends.”
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