Bumbu
The rum in the heavy bottle with a little rope around the neck, full of vanilla and caramel. Everything about the varieties, alcohol percentage, how to drink it and the right glass to serve it in.
A modern rum with an old story
Bumbu refers to “bumbo,” a drink made by sailors in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century from rum, water, sugar and spices. The Bumbu brand is much younger: it launched in 2014 and quickly made a name for itself, partly thanks to its distinctive embossed bottle with a rope and its social media presence.
Bumbu The Original is made in Barbados from sugar cane sourced from eight different countries in the West Indies and aged for up to fifteen years in oak barrels. The XO comes from Panama and is aged for up to eighteen years in ex-bourbon casks, with a finish in sherry casks. All Bumbu varieties are distinctly sweet and full-bodied; they are meant more for sipping than mixing.
In brief
What types of Bumbu are there?
Bumbu The Original
The best-known bottle: small-batch rum from Barbados, aged for up to fifteen years. Sweet and full-bodied, with vanilla, caramel and spices.
Bumbu XO
Panamanian small-batch rum aged for up to eighteen years in ex-bourbon casks, with a short finish in sherry casks. Toffee, oak, orange and coffee.
Bumbu Cream
Rum with Caribbean spices and real cream, with a distinct hint of cinnamon. Smooth and dessert-like.
The Original is the all-rounder; XO is the bottle to drink neat.
Vanilla, caramel and lots of sweetness
Vanilla & caramel
Full of vanilla, caramel, banana and baking spices like cinnamon. It smells more like dessert than a dry rum.
Sweet and rounded
Distinctly sweet and syrupy, with vanilla, toffee and oak. No harsh edges; this is an approachable, smooth rum.
Warm with spices
A long, warm finish of caramel, oak and cinnamon. The XO is drier, with more orange and coffee on the finish.
Flavor profile of Bumbu The Original. The XO is drier and woodier, and scores about 4/5 for sweetness; the Cream is a 15% cream liqueur.
Three ways to drink Bumbu
Bumbu is sweet enough to drink neat. In a cocktail, it works best if you reduce the sugar in the recipe.
On the rocks
5 cl Bumbu over one large ice cube in a tumbler. The ice melts slowly and takes the edge off the sweetness while the vanilla and caramel remain. The simplest and best way.
Glass: tumbler →With cola or ginger beer
5 cl Bumbu with 150 ml cola or ginger beer and plenty of ice in a highball glass, with a lime wedge. The rum's sweetness calls for something fresh to balance it out.
Cuba Libre recipe →Neat, after dinner
4 cl Bumbu XO at room temperature in a cognac glass. Warm the glass in your hand and sip slowly: that's when the toffee, oak and orange really come through.
Glass: cognac glass →The best cocktails with Bumbu
Bumbu is already quite sweet. So use less syrup than the recipe calls for, or choose a cocktail where the rum provides the sweetness.
Dark 'n Stormy
Dark rum with ginger beer and lime. The ginger cuts right through the sweetness.
Cuba Libre
Rum, cola and lime over plenty of ice. With Bumbu, it's fuller and sweeter than with white rum.
Mai Tai
Rum, lime, almond syrup and orange liqueur. Feel free to leave out the syrup here.
Mudslide
Cream liqueur, coffee liqueur and vodka. Bumbu Cream turns it into a caramel-cinnamon dessert.The Right Glass for Bumbu
A heavy tumbler for on the rocks, a cognac glass for XO neat, and a highball glass for serving it with cola. These are the glasses we recommend.
Everything else you wanted to know about Bumbu
Can't find your question here? Check out our cocktail recipes or get in touch.
To the cocktail recipes →What is the alcohol percentage of Bumbu?
Where does Bumbu rum come from?
Is sugar added to Bumbu?
What's the difference between Bumbu The Original and Bumbu XO?
What's the best way to drink Bumbu?
Is Bumbu Cream the same as Baileys?
Buy Bumbu
Want the bottle delivered straight to your door? Order Bumbu online from Gall & Gall.
Prices as of November 3, 2026, as reported by Gall & Gall. You can see the current price and stock at Gall & Gall. Glazen.nl receives a small commission if you buy something through these links; it won't cost you anything extra. No 18, no alcohol.
