Most spiced rums also tend to be sweetened with sugar and caramel and flavoured with vanilla, as well as other herbs, fruits, barks, leaves, and seeds.

There are numerous spiced versions of famous rum brands that are forced to omit the word "rum" from their packaging or use terms such as "based on rum". Although these products may be made with rum (rather than neutral spirit), they are termed "Spirit Drinks" due to being below the minimum required bottling strength for a rum - 37.5% alc./vol. (75 proof) in the UK and Europe, and 40% alc./vol. (80 proof) in the USA and Canada. EU laws also stipulate that "Rum shall not be flavoured," "may only contain added caramel as a means of adjusting the colour," and that "the final product may not contain more than 20 grams of sweetening products per litre, expressed as invert sugar."

Spiced rums may be based on cask-aged rum or have some aged rum in the blend, but most are based on unaged rum, with their amber colour coming from the infusion of herbs and additions such as caramel.

Spiced rums are mostly enjoyed mixed with cola or ginger beer but are also great in cocktails.