I have yet to find a non-alcoholic white rum that is worth its price.
Since they are still a niche product, nonalcoholic spirits are more expensive than their mass-distilled counterparts.
They are a purchase for when you want to treat yourself to something special or, like my beloved frozen pia Coladas, something sorely missed.
I believe we will one day have a white rum alternative that meets the standards for a splurge, but we are not there yet.
Dark rum is a different story.
With complex, strongly flavored spirits, distillers have more variables to play with and more routes to explore in their quest to make something that tastes like the real thing.
Are the replicas perfect? These nonalcoholic rum alternatives are good enough to create the illusion of the “grown-up” cocktails I still crave.
1- Rumish
This rum alternative is bold and boisterous and follows its assertive spices with oak. In a daiquiri, rum likes to play with a spot of sugar and a squirt of fresh orange juice.
2- Ritual
The roasted banana notes at the tail end of Ritual’s spirit alternatives mean they are meant for mixed drinks. It’s a good idea to use this in cocktails where rum likes making its presence known.
3- Seir Hill Biscayne
With bold notes of dark molasses and charred oak, hints of vanilla and black raspberry, and a fierce gingery bite that cuts through any mixer, Seir Hill Biscayne is perfect for cocktails.
4- Lyre’s dark Cane
It has a slightly sweet spirit with strong notes of caramel and vanilla and is best used in sweet drinks.
5- CleanCo
The bottle has toasty notes of clove, star anise, and pepper cayenne, and it has a golden caramel color. Hot Buttered Rum is one of the sweetened drinks where it can be found.
6- Caleno Dark And Spicy
There are fruity hints of pineapple, coconut, and lime behind the warmth of island spices It is lovely when you pair it with something simple that will let it shine.