Years ago, when most American recipes were written, the only rums available here were light Puerto Rican rums, like Bacardi and Meyers', a dark Jamaican Rum.
The Peurto Rican rums simply didn't provide the necessary "RUM" flavor.
Now, with many good dark rums available, It might be fun to experiment. Bermuda produces a very dark variety call Black Seal that would really be fun to cook with. Pussers, Appletons and Mount Gay would also be fine.