Dark rum is more varied than light rums and you’ll want to find a good one to stock your bar with.  You also can’t go simply from the color of the rum to supply a “dark rum” for cocktails as they range from aged rums to spiced rums to black strap rums.  The rum I’m referring to here is aged in charred oak for a shorter period of time.  The rums aged for longer periods are often good to sip on their own or use in limited quantities in mixed drinks.

My preferred rum is a blended rum:  Appleton Estate Signature Blend.  This is a blend of 15 different rums, which are aged between 10 and 15 years in oak casks.  It works well in a wide range of drinks and is relatively affordable, especially if you can find it in the larger 1.75L bottles.