J Wray and Nephew’s White Overproof Rum is highly acclaimed and widely available just about everywhere.

Further down the ABV scale J Wray and Nephew also bottle this entry level Jamaican Appleton Rum.  Like the Special Appleton Jamaica Rum this is not bottled as part of the Estate series and as a result does not benefit from the wonderful stubby bottle treatment.

This White Rum comes in a more standard bar room bottle exactly the same as the Special apart from the colour scheme.  Like the Special little information is given about the rum and I have been unable to uncover much about the rum.

My guess is that this will be a mix of young column and pot distilled rums which are then filtered to remove the colour to make a mixing rum.  This rum is bottled at a rather wimpy 37.5% when compared to the 63% White Overproof.  However this rum will set you back around £15.  I was lucky and got this for only £12.99 from Rehill’s in Jesmond (pretty much my most local specialist drink shop).  I figured it was worth it if only for the review.

Unlike White Rums such as Havana Club’s 3 Anos this rum is entirely transparent with no yellow tinges.  As a result it looks exactly the same in the bottle as it does in the glass…….

The nose is a bit more exciting.  Alongside the young alcohol fumes is a very rich and vibrant nose.  It’s very fruity.  Banana, pineapple and some nice vanilla notes.  It’s very rich.  I’m very surprised I really wasn’t expecting much.

As a sipper it shows straight away that it really isn’t cut out for that.  With the ABV being only 37.5% it seems to take the alcohol burn down a little.  Whilst you can still taste quite a lot of alcohol and it does burn a little it is nowhere near as harsh as I had envisaged.  There is still a hit of varnish but there is also some strong sweetness.  Pear Drops and also a little bit of Navy tablet.  Boiled sweet like sweetness is very evident.  With a cube of ice this works surprisingly well.

Like all of the rums in J Wray and Nephew’s Appleton range this rum is much more refined than Jamaican rums such as it’s own Overproof or the likes of Smith and Cross and Hampden Gold.  The strange Jamaican funk is there but it has the edge taken off it.  It is more accessible.

As a white mixer I have not tested many white rums that I have enjoyed as much as this one.  It’s a young white mixer and as a result has no oak, tobacco or smokey notes as a result of extended ageing.  Instead it exhibits a very sweet flavour like Bacardi but fortunately without that nasty almost grainy Bacardi note.  Instead you find yourself getting some very full flavoured sweet notes of rich tropical fruits.  Like Chairman’s Reserve White Label it is big on Banana and Pear.  I’m not a huge white rum drinker but this makes a great rum and cola for when you are in the mood for a sweeter drink.

For me this beats the much hyped Plantation 3 Star and Banks 5 Island.  If you want full flavoured White Mixing Rum don’t Island hop just stick with Jamaica.

Another Appleton Classic and even taking into account the 37.5% ABV at around £15-20 a bottle this is how white rum should be done.

It is due to be re-released as J Wray White/Silver in the future to stop any confusion with the Appleton Estate range of rums and to give the two current Appleton (no Estate) branded rums a more firm identity.