Bedford Park Jamaican Distillery 2000. Today we are trying a rum from yet another Scottish Independent bottler- Bedford Park. An offshoot of North Point Distillery who produce their own Spiced and “Regular” rum. I have heard of them and will likely be reviewing their Pilot rum soon.

North Point Distillery does not focus solely on rum – they also produce their own Dalclagie Scotch Whisky and their Crosskirk Bay Gin. As a result Bedford Park does not just independently bottle rum they also bottle whisky.

I’ve a few rums from their first batch of releases to review so I won’t use all my information about the distillery in this review. I’ll keep some back to keep the other reviews interesting. Besides which, despite this being labelled as “Jamaican Distillery” I do have a fair bit of information about this particular rum.

Bedford Park Jamaican Distillery 2000 does not disclose the exact distillery where this rum hails from. Likely some kind of disclosure/gentlemen’s agreement prevents them from revealing the distillery. However, in the information listed on the Bedford Park website it does note that the rum hails from Trelawny. Which narrows the field down a bit.

As I haven’t signed any disclosure agreement I can reveal that is a rum from the Hampden Distillery. Bottled in 2000 and it is a LROK (Light Rum Owen Kelly) marque. Take “light rum” with a pinch of salt…..

It is 100% Pot Still distilled rum which has been aged solely in Europe for over 23 years before being bottled by Bedford Park in 2024. It has been aged in a New French Oak Cask. So something a little different. The cask number should you be interested is 2205306. It has been bottled at Cask Strength of 54.8% ABV. The output is 402 bottles.

The rum retails at £157.50 and is currently only available direct from North Point Distillery here. The label is designed by Toronto-born, LA-based illustrator / production designer Patrick O’Keefe, whose recent works include the animated Spider-Man films, Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse.

So lets see how this one goes down………….

In the glass we have a dark brown spirit with an orange tint. Nosing the rum, it is quite sweet and very fruity. Lots of Pineapple notes straight off the bat. Beneath this is a familiar Jamaican funk. However, this funk is a little refined, a little mellower than we often find with Hampden rums.

There is a nice hit Gooseberry and some gentle oak spices. There is a hint of Pear Drops and a tickle of black pepper.

Bedford Park Jamaican Distillery 2000 seems more refined and “rounded” than most Single Cask Hampden rums. It’s spent a lot of time in the barrel and the French Oak really seems to have knocked off all the rough edges of this spirit.

Sipped the rum isn’t quite as sweet as the nose with some of the more astringent notes of Jamaican funk coming through on the initial sip. It’s intense with lots of flavour and it is reminding me a little of the early Hampden Yellow and Green bottles. What I am noticing is that this rum isn’t as dry as some Hampdens can be. The initial sip is a little bitter but further sips reveal a lot more.

The second sip showcases more of the fruitier notes on the nose. So I am getting plenty gooseberry, pineapple and maybe a touch of Kiwi fruit. There is a really nice blend of rich, warming oak spices and a nice heat of black pepper and a touch of chilli.

The mid palate has a really nice development from the fruitier notes into more intense oak and spice like notes.

There are no off notes about this rum and whilst it is unmistakably a 100% Jamaican Pot Still rum it isn’t quite as “out there” as some younger (or higher marques) can be. It is a little mellow and the flavours are all beautifully integrated.

The finish is long with notes of stewed fruits and English Breakfast Tea. It dries out a little to reveal some lovely warming oak notes (again!) and a gentle spiciness fades out beautifully.

This is an excellent example of long aged Jamaican rum and it is a really lovely rum to sip on and savour.

An excellent start from Bedford Park Spirits!