Please give me suggestions about some nice rum for starters (like me)

Of the choices you have listed, I would go the Havana Club route if it’s made in Cuba and NOT Puerto Rico! The 7 year old is nice sipped neat and is in your price range. The next step up would be the Seleccion de Maestros, but that would set you back double that price. The only Bacardi I like that is suitable for sipping, would be the Bacardi 8 or their Solera presentation. See if you can find Zacapa, El Dorado or Diplomatico Good luck...their are so many good rums out there...ENJOY and CHEERS!

OK man, thanks

Guys I picked up Havana Club 7 it's made in Cuba and distributed by Pernod-Ricard, so it's the real deal. Yesterday i tried it neat and it was really intresting. As i said this is my first experience with rum in general. The first sip was pretty strange- It was quite warm(almost burning) on my throat. I waited about 2 minutes before i sip from the glass for second time, because i red here that the rum gets better when you let it "breath" in the glass. When i sipped from the glass for the second time it was different indeed. The rum was much more "tamed", that burn wasn't there any more it was just nice and warm, but not harsh if that makes sense..... Also i was able to experience the sweetness of the rum in my mounth. It wasn't too sweet but it's ok with me. Today I will try it with some ice and/or coke. I'm gonna try more rums in the future for sure. By the way i picked up my bottle for 20 euros.

I personally prefer the Anejo Especial as a sipper...and it's cheaper than the 7.

Just invest an extra few euros and get a bottle of Zafra ($40), that's my current favorite. You can also go with Flor De Cana 7 year that's pretty good stuff for $20. Also since you're new to sipping try letting the rum breath in the glass for a few hours instead of putting ice or water in. This will let some of the fire out of cheaper rums and allow the flavor to come through.

El Dorado 12 year old on the rock's. you will love it and it pairs nice with a good quality cigar.

kon12: Welcome to the wonderful world of rum. When I started reviewing rums for this site, I put a maximum price tag of $50 US per bottle. I eventually came up with a formula for a B/C Ratio (benefit vs cost) for each of the more than 120 rums that I have reviews here. I have now selected 7 of the best value rums from my list. None have more than 15 gpl of added sugar. None of these cost more than $22 each. All are rated as a 7, with Cruzan Gold being a 6. Moving up to a rating of 8 or higher will cost you. Only one rum scored a 10, which was Dicrador XO Insolent at $96 per bottle. On the other end of my list is Brugal Anejo with my only rating of 1, which is hands down the absolute worse rum that I have tried. I gave the whole bottle away to my neighbor after only one sip. Here is the list! Plantation Original Dark Double Aged Don Q Anejo Plantation Artisinal 3-Stars Cockspur 5-Star Cruzan Gold Vizcaya Cristal El Dorado 8