6 Rums for the Perfect Tiki Cocktail

American tiki bar cocktails became so popular that they grew into a completely separate class of drinks and inspired others throughout the years.

These fun, delicious, and often colorful cocktails are easy to recreate at home. While there is no exact way to make a tiki cocktail, they typically have the same things: two to three styles of rum, different spices and garnishes, and tropical fruit. Get ready to transport to a tropical island and make one of these tropical drinks using one of our favorite rums.

Diplomatico Mantuano

This rum mixes great in cocktails but it can also be enjoyed neat because it maintains its complexity. With notes of dried plums, oak, and delicate spiciness, this rum is complex and well-balanced.

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Rhum Barbancourt

Aged in limousine oak barrels and made with pure cane sugar purchased directly from farmers in Haiti, this rum will be a hit in any tiki cocktail. The Pango Rhum is a dark aged rum that is blended with mangos and pineapple, making it an appropriate rum to stir into a drink.

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Coconut Cartel

This rum is inspired by the beloved and refreshing drink: coconut water. Aged for up to 12 years in American White Oak barrels, it’s then cut down from cask strength down to bottle proof using the coconut water. Coconut Cartel is a full-bodied rum with topical, vanilla, and oak notes.

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Flor de Caña 4 Extra Seco

This transparent rum is sugar and gluten-free. It makes the perfect base for any tropical cocktail you’re craving with its notes of orange and white chocolate.

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Sweetdram Smoked Spiced Rum

Made with Caribbean rums, grains of paradise, and warm-smoked organic figs, this rum is like no others. Sweetdram Smoked Spiced Rum has tasting notes of dry caramel, peppered fruit crumbles, and pineapple chunks giving it the best flavors to sip by the pool.

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Trader Vic’s

It wouldn’t be a proper tiki cocktail without some Trader Vic’s rum! With eight strengths to choose from, there is a little something for everyone. Trader Vic’s 151 Proof Rum has the warm embrace of salty air and the Caribbean islands.