Aha, is there a rum thread already?
I'm pretty clueless on rum to be honest. Have tasted the odd one that was very pleasant but not known the brand or type.
I was gifted a Bacardi Carta Negra which is, frankly, rather poor. Not sure how I'm going to make it disappear without arousing suspicion of the benefactor.
Anyway, what is inexpensive but worthy of sipping-rum status or at worst on the rocks?
Relatively new to rum but have discovered a few favourites so far. Price-wise, £35-£50 in the UK can get a good sipping rum. El Dorado (from Guyana) 12yo and, worth a few extra, the 15yo. Both are quite sweet but recent bottles have had far less sugar added than earlier versions.
RL Seale 10yo from Barbados, Foursquare distillery is lovely stuff. Good strength and natural presentation. Also from Foursquare, Doorly's 12yo. Again, all natural, less sweet, and complex, so should appeal to a Scotch drinker. Not tried, but the XO is meant to be good (and cheaper).
Personally, like whisky, I'd avoid low strength bottles or fancy packaging. Also note that many rums can be excessively sweet (additional sugar added), the age statement can relate to the oldest rum in the blend (unlike Scotch), although not in the case of the aforementioned rums, which is the youngest, and the hotter climate matures the spirit far quicker than Scotch.
(And yes, there's a rum thread on here somewhere)