Spiced Rum comes in for a lot of flak. It is widely viewed as a cheap party drink and in the US it is widely seen as a Frat House mixer. Drank with the sole purpose of getting very drunk, very quickly.
Here in the UK many peoples views on Spiced Rum have been clouded by Morgan’s Spiced Gold and Sailor Jerry. In the late 00’s Sailor Jerry and Cola was actually the “in” drink for a short period. For reasons which have never been fully explained the Sailor Jerry boom in the UK was cut short, not by changing trends but by the actual producers of the rum.
Bacardi re-launched this rum only last year in the UK. Until then Bacardi Gold (as it was then) was bottled at 37.5% ABV. This was increased to 40% ABV. Now the whole Bacardi line up has been re-vamped and Bacardi Gold has been re-named in a more contermporary style whilst still keeping some of the distinguishing Bacardi features.
The Indian Ocean Company and Berry Bros. & Rudd Spirits are delighted to announce the release of the fourth batch of Penny Blue XO Rum. 
Cadenhead’s are an independent Scotch Whisky and Spirit bottler from Campbelltown, Argyle in Scotland. They are well respected, not only for their whiskies but also for producing some legendary rums over the years. They have put out several 30 plus years old Demeraras and have a very eclectic mix of rums currently available.
Gosling’s don’t tend to rush their releases or have many lines in their portfolio. Until recently their only rum commercially available was the Black Seal and the Black Seal Overproof.
Bristol Classic Rum are a wonderful little bottling and ageing experiment, overseen by drinks legend John Barrett. They produce some of the rum worlds most interesting independent bottlings and they price them competitively and sensibly, so most can access their wares.
Havana Club have recently re-branded and re-formulated their entry level Anejo Especial dark rum. Whether this has anything to do with Bacardi’s recent re-branding exercise I’m not sure. I doubt however that the two giants weren’t aware of what the other had planned……