National Rum Day – Our top 5 bars to drink rum in London
That’s right, National Rum Day is here, good news for all you out there helping make rum “the new whiskey.” Great rum joints have really exploded in the past few years, and so we’re here to help narrow down the best of the lot to celebrate your rum day in style.
Rum & Sugar
Set in a converted warehouse that stored rum during the seafaring days, this atmospheric Canary Wharf space boasts over 150 brands to sample and savour, plus an extensive cocktail list. It’s history—the fun kind. Try: the Calypso cocktail or the flor de caña tasting flight.
West India Quay, E14 4AL
Website | Instagram
Burlock
This Mayfair joint, with its hopscotch of rustic furniture and low-lit interior, is bathed in an old world Cuban elegance. Let the atmosphere wash over you while these expert mixologists serve up a wide range of cocktails—many of them set on fire. If that’s not enough, their 5-7 happy hour serves up Mojitos for a fiver. Try: the Old Cuban or Off the Hook cocktails.
31 Duke St, Marylebone, W1U 1LG
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Buster Mantis
Riding the wave of trendy Deptford, this Jamaican themed place is set under two railway arches. Its open kitchen readies jerk chicken from a jerk barbecue drum, and as you’d expect, they don’t hold back on the rum punches. Plus, their creative space is home to a constantly shifting array of performance-visual art or music sets. Try: locals go for the triples—are you ready?
3-4 Resolution Way, SE8 4NT
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Cottons Rhum Shack
Go for Cottons if you want great food with your rum—calling itself ‘Couture Caribbean,’ this is jerk chicken done with a modern, urban twist. Grabbing a few of the sharing plates might be best. If it’s rum you’re after, though, never fear: its Notting Hill location, sporting a whopping 350+ different labels, is supposed to hold the most rum this side of the Atlantic. Try: the China Breeze cocktail.
Camden: 55 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AN.
Shoreditch: 130-132 Curtain Road, EC2A 3AR.
Notting Hill: 157-159 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3LF.
Website | Instagram
Trader Vic’s
As the claimed inventor of the Mai Tai way back in 1944, this Tiki lounge on Park Lane is the real deal. Its Polynesian spirit goes past the palm-trees and bamboo panelled décor, too, with festive communal sharing bowels that brings the Pacific to London in smashing fashion. Try: do we have to spell it out for you?