The best rums to sip and shake

Rum was first made in the Caribbean in the 1600s by fermenting and distilling sugarcane juice or sugarcane molasses, by-products of sugarcane production. Rum is naturally clear, but when aged, it darkens in colour, which is why you can get rum across a spectrum of colours, from crystal clear to golden to dark. How it’s distilled and how it's aged have a huge role to play in the drink's final flavour and quality. Find out which makes M&S rums so special, and the best bottles to try.

From crisp, full-bodied white rums to bold, extra-old dark rum, to everything in between, our range of rum will have you sipping and shaking.

If you're shaking rum into a long cocktail, which means a cocktail that's topped up with mixers, like soda or ginger beer, serve them in tall hi-ball glasses – like our spiced pineapple mojito, for example. If you're making a short cocktail, like a plum sour, serve it in a tumbler glass.

Which rums can you drink straight?

How you drink rum all depends on the type of rum you're using, and how it's been made. A good-quality, full-bodied rum, whether it's aged dark rum or full-bodied white rum, is fantastic sipped straight over ice. If you're drinking rum straight up, serve it in a short glass, like a glass tumbler.

Whether it's a strawberries and cream piña colada or a pineapple rum punch, a spiced pineapple mojito or an elevated plum sour, we've got plenty of rum cocktail recipes to kick off a party.