RumX Awards 2024

This year, we’ve reached some incredible milestones:

• We’ve cracked the 40,000-user milestone.
• You’ve shared a record 79,391 rum reviews.
• With 4,486 new rums we’ve cemented our position as the world’s largest rum database.

Alongside these milestones, RumX has evolved into the world’s largest rum rating platform – a place where thousands of enthusiasts gather daily to discover, rate, and share their passion for rum. At the heart of it all is you, our passionate community, whose contributions continue to inspire and shape the rum world.

To make exploring and enjoying rum even easier, we’ve expanded the RumX Marketplace, now offering over 3,000 rums from trusted shops – all accessible directly through the app with your RumX account.

This year, we’ve also made exploring the world of rum even easier with our modernized RumX website. You can now discover the highest-rated rums of all time and enjoy a smoother browsing experience with intuitive filters, such as sorting according to price. To better serve our growing global community, the site is now fully available in English, French, and German.

What Makes the RumX Awards Special?

Unlike subjective “best of” lists created by editorial teams or sponsored content, the RumX Awards are 100% community-driven: Our awards are based on the evaluation of over 79,000 reviews submitted in 2024 by RumX users worldwide.

To protect the integrity of the RumX Awards, we introduced advanced AI algorithms this year to identify and flag suspicious reviews. After a careful review, we excluded over 1,000 reviews. These algorithms now run in the background, ensuring fairness by quickly detecting and excluding abusive accounts. This way, the RumX Awards remain a true reflection of our community’s voice.

Top Bottlers of 2024

We’re kicking off the 2024 RumX Awards with the bottlers that wowed us throughout the year with consistently high-quality releases. To find the best independent bottlers, we only looked at the following:

• Bottlers who released at least 10 new rums in the last 12 months (from Dec. 1, 2023, to Nov. 30, 2024).
• A minimum of 100 community ratings for these releases.
• Rankings based on the highest average community scores.

And the Winners Are…

1st Place: Famille RicciWith an average score of 8.41 from 217 ratings, Famille Ricci has taken the crown this year! They released 44 rums ranging from rare single casks to creative blends - topped by their two releases from Hampden, starting with a <>H from 2014 (RX18401) and closely followed by a 41 year old release from 1983 (RX20231). The range is quite diverse with expressions from other reputable distilleries and vintages, such as a multi-vintage blend of Uitvlugt rums (RX18790), a 22-year old Fiji 2001 (RX16756), and a release from Trinidad’s Ten Cane distillery from 2008 (RX17860). Next to these single distillery bottlings, Famille Ricci came out with a series of innovative blends released as part of their Zodiac series, bringing some unexpected combinations of profiles to us. Whatever you did to select your releases in the past 12 months - keep up the momentum! Congrats on behalf of the RumX community for the Bottler of the Year award!

2nd Place: Swell de SpiritsJumping up three spots from last year, Swell de Spirits earns silver with an average score of 8.38 from 430 ratings across 22 releases. Highlights include popular bottlings from T.D.L. (RX19573, RX21755 or RX20026), Hampden (RX22312), Caroni (RX18923) and their well-loved Savanna Herrline (RX20538) release. The RumX community had the pleasure of tasting some of Swell’s recent bottlings during an amazing masterclass. Swell keeps flying high thanks to its consistent quality and bold selections - we look forward to whatever is waiting for us to be tasted in 2025 and until then will certainly have another dram of their great 2024 range. Congratulations on the silver medal!

3rd Place: VelierThe legendary Velier proves its dominance again, securing third place with an average score of 8.33 from a massive 733 ratings! This also gives Velier the title of the most tasted bottler of the year. From the exciting Caroni Paradise series (RX21834, RX15927, RX15925 and RX15921) to all-time favorites like the Foursquare Absolutio (RX18937), unique casks from the now closed Nine Leaves distillery in Japan (RX21777, RX21835, RX21836 and RX21837) and innovative blends from places like Haiti (RX21814) and Cabo Verde (RX21810), Velier continues to create buzz among the rum fans worldwide with their diverse portfolio of both well-known names and new addition to the rum landscape.

4th Place: The Whisky JuryLast year’s winner still made a big impression in 2024 with an average score of 8.32. Despite releasing just 12 rums, The Whisky Jury played by the rule “all killers, no fillers” - from their T.D.L. releases from 2002 and 2009 (RX21416, RX21400) to Jamaica’s Hampden 2013 and 2014 (RX21415, RX21435) and finally New Yarmouth 2009 (RX19575) they featured some very well-known and admired distilleries, closely following the preferences of the RumX community. And what can we say - well, maybe just two things: First, it is damn hard to beat a well-known classic like the selected distilleries and vintages. And second, quality beats quantity, period. Well done!

5th Place: RomdeluxeRomdeluxe climbed the ranks this year, jumping from 8th to 5th place with an average score of 8.29 from 35 releases. And of course we once again saw some of Romdeluxe’s already famous (dare we say “infamous”?) bottlings of young rums bottled at breathtaking ABVs - starting with a TECC from 2023, aged for 7 months and then filled into the beautiful black bottles at 85,3% (RX18313) or the “Wild Series” special release for the 13th Germany Rumfest in Berlin, a 2 year old Hampden HGML with 84,5% (RX21434). But Romdeluxe isn’t limited to the heavy flavor bombs - they also convinced the RumX community with older vintage rums like their 2002 T.D.L. release for the Prague Rumfest 2024 (RX20525), their Ten Cane 2008 (RX21611) or their Port Mourant from 2011 bottled at a “modest” 57,5% (RX19643). On behalf of the RumX community we’d like to express both our thanks and congratulations to the team at Romdeluxe - we enjoyed your bottlings a lot and look forward to your next selections!

Full Ranking: Top 10 Independent Bottlers 2024

From rising stars like Famille Ricci to the timeless excellence of Velier, independent bottlers delivered an incredible variety of rums this year. Some rose up the rankings with standout releases, while others surprised us with hidden treasures that became instant community favorites. Before we move on, let's take a look at the overall top 10 independent bottlers of 2024:

1. Famille Ricci: 8.41/10 (217 ratings)
2. Swell de Spirits: 8.38/10 (430 ratings)
3. Velier: 8.33/10 (733 ratings)
4. The Whisky Jury: 8.32/10 (318 ratings)
5. Romdeluxe: 8.29/10 (286 ratings)
6. Precious Liquors: 8.24/10 (189 ratings)
7. Spirit of Rum: 8.20/10 (343 ratings)
8. Oldman Spirits GmbH: 7.93/10 (309 ratings)
9. Heinz Eggert GmbH: 7.91/10, (109 ratings)
10. Zéro Nine Spirits: 7.86/10 (108 ratings)

Voices of the winners

"We are immensely proud to be awarded Best Bottler 2024. This prize rewards years of hard work, the dedication of our team, and the incredible distilleries we are honored to work with. RumX provides us with valuable customer feedback that drives us to improve with every release. A heartfelt thank you to the RumX team and everyone who voted – this adventure wouldn’t be possible without you!" - Morgan & Esteban (Famille Ricci)

"Thrilled to be among the top bottlers! At Swell de Spirits, we pour our hearts (and a bit of funk) into what we do. Huge thanks to the RumX crew for building the ultimate playground for rum lovers and to the amazing community for all the love and support ! Cheers to many more spirited adventures!" - Mika Barbaria (Swell de Spirits)

Discover the best rums from your favorite independent bottlers on our revamped RumX website. With improved filters, quick access to “Top Rated on RumX” picks, and a seamless browsing experience, finding and buying your next favorite bottle has never been easier.

Top Distilleries 2024

Next, we celebrate the Top Distilleries of the Year – the producers who delivered the best quality rums over the past 12 months. To crown the top distilleries, we set the following criteria:

• 10 or more new rums released in the last 12 months (between Dec. 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2024).
• At least 100 community ratings in total for their new releases.
• Rankings were based on the highest average community scores.

And the Winners Are…

1st Place: Long Pond (Jamaica)Long Pond claims the top spot with an impressive 8.56 average score from 297 ratings across 50 releases. Both its exceptionally old selections like the 40-year old 1983 Long Pond in the Sins series by Distilia (RX20715) as well as very young expressions like Romdeluxe’s seven months old TECC from 2023 (RX18313) which was bottled at a heavy ABV of 85,3% - the range in both maturity as well as strength shows the variety that Long Pond releases brought to the market. Despite these heavy contrasts, our community was convinced throughout and enjoyed the entire range from the young and bold freshman down to the distinguished gentleman pondering his sins. Long Pond definitely showcased its qualities in all shapes and sizes.

2nd Place: Caroni (Trinidad)The legendary Caroni secures silver with an 8.48 average score from 212 ratings across 43 releases. Interestingly, the top-rated Caroni release of this year is one that only found its way into one bottle so far since Paradise #10 (RX21834) was released as a preview at Whisky Live in Paris this year - needless to say that this one bottle up for sale immediately found its way into the RumX community. Another interesting fact was the number of releases from 1999 vintage at Caroni which starts to become a community favorite slowly but certainly with Distilia’s Last Cask selection (RX21507) as well as Silver Seal’s contribution to LMDW’s Foundations Collection (RX21825) being the frontrunners and top-notch representatives of the wonderfully rounded HTR-profile of the vintage.

3rd Place: Ten Cane (Trinidad)This seems to be the year of lost distilleries from Trinidad - and by landing third place in our ranking with an 8.48 average score from 123 ratings, Ten Cane has ultimately stepped out of the shadows of its big brother, Caroni. Especially the 2008 vintage, with its delicate profile of nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate, turned into a real crowd-pleaser in the RumX community. The top releases stand as proof of this: Examples from the past year include Famille Ricci’s “Vierge” bottling (RX17860), Spirit of Rum’s Private Selection Edition 42 (RX18753), and Romdeluxe’s 20th expression in their Collector’s Series (RX21611). Sorry to all rum geeks - but with this result, Ten Cane is definitely no longer considered an insider tip.

4th Place: Enmore (Guyana)Enmore takes fourth place with an 8.42 average score from 162 ratings. A total of 43 releases have hit the market since December 2023, and what remains remarkable is the high aging of these rums. The Rum Cask’s latest bottling of the famous 1994 vintage marked the release of the oldest known rum under the REV marque to date (RX21851), alongside even older KFM rums from 1991 by Colours of Rum (RX21771) and a 1988 Enmore by Famille Ricci, which matured for an extensive 36 years (RX20262). Have we already reached the peak of aging for the typical Enmore profiles? Well, time will tell. The good news is that we can likely look forward to more outstanding offerings from this wonderful distillery in the years to come.

5th Place: Foursquare (Barbados)Foursquare remains a fan favorite, earning an 8.39 average score from a massive 568 ratings across 70 releases. Once more, Foursquare managed to deliver high quality releases in impressive volumes - and with the right level of variation to keep the community excited. Front-runner was once more a joint release with Velier, the Absolutio distilled in 2009 and released after 15 years of aging that landed in the RumX top 10 of Foursquare rums of all times (RX18937), closely followed by another Private Cask selection for The Whisky Exchange in England, going by the name of “Mystique” (RX18491). Besides these two bottlings that fully matured under Barbados’ tropical climate, we also find continentally aged rums from Foursquare distillery in the top ranks of the community, e.g. Schotman’s 19-year-old release from 2005 (RX20204) or Valinch & Mallet’s latest edition to the Spirit of Art series from 2006 (RX20894).

Full Ranking: Top 10 Distilleries 2024

Curious to see who made the cut? Here are the Top 10 Distilleries of 2024 that set the standard for excellence this year.

1. Long Pond (Jamaica): 8.56/10 (297 ratings)
2. Caroni (Trinidad): 8.48/10 (212 ratings)
3. Ten Cane (Trinidad): 8.48/10 (123 ratings)
4. Enmore (Guyana): 8.42/10 (162 ratings)
5. Foursquare (Barbados): 8.39/10 (568 ratings)
6. Neisson (Martinique): 8.38/10 (127 ratings)
7. Uitvlugt (Guyana): 8.37/10 (145 ratings)
8. T.D.L (Trinidad): 8.34/10 (887 ratings)
9. Savanna (La Réunion): 8.31/10 (490 ratings)
10. Rhum J.M (Martinique): 8.28/10 (129 ratings)

What’s Next?

In Part 2 of the RumX Awards , we’ll reveal the Top Rums of 2024 – the bottles that earned the highest praise from our community – along with the Best Value-for-Money Picks and this year’s biggest surprises and hidden gems .

Looking for buying tips already? Check out the RumX Marketplace , where you can explore over 3,000 rums from trusted shops and find your next favorite bottle. Plus, with every purchase, you earn RX Loyalty Points to redeem for exclusive sample sets or RumX merchandise.

We Want to Hear From You!

Did your favorite bottler make the list?

Who do you think deserves the top spot for Rum of the Year?

And here’s a question to stir the debate: Are legendary names like Velier and Caroni still unbeatable, or will rising stars such as Famille Ricci take the crown in the future?

Drop your thoughts below! Cheers!