Compagnie des Indes (East India Company) Jamaica New Yarmouth 12 Year old rum. Compagnie des Indes are an independent bottler from France.

So far they have not achieved fame for any particular bottling or style, the way the likes of Velier, Rum Nation and Bristol Classic have. Though they have established a reputation for bottling an eclectic series of single casks and their own signature blends.

This Jamaica New Yarmouth is a different cask and bottling to the one I tried recently at the London Rumfest. This effort has been bottled exclusively for the Danish market. Compagnie des Indes have made a few Cask Strength expressions available only in Denmark.

The New Yarmouth distillery came as a surprise to me as I had previously not heard of it. New Yarmouth is a part of the Appleton Estate. It is based in Clarendon Parish and produces the white unaged rum in Wray and Nephew Overproof. Operating both pot and column stills. It is not a small distillery, its just a bit like Hampden in that its rums appear more in blends and “branded” rums rather than their own line up of New Yarmouth rums.

Jamaica New Yarmouth comes in your standard stubby Compagnie des Indes bottled. It is noted that this rum was distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2017. Noted as being 12 Years old. It is a single cask (so it is different to the standard 55% offering) the cask is noted as JNYD9 it is bottled at a very hefty 65.2% ABV. In Denmark it would set you back around 900-1000 Kroner or which Google tells me is around £107-120. As far as I am aware, this is a 100% Pot Still rum.

Poured in the glass the rum is very light in colour -white wine to straw coloured. It clearly has not been coloured with caramel. Or if it has it hasn’t worked!

The nose as one might expect of a 65.2% rum is enormous. It is high ester Pot Still Jamaican funk. When poured it absolutely reeks! You can smell it in the house next door! I’d imagine even after only a small sample of this you’ll smell like a brewery for the rest of the day!

It is sweet like a Long Pond. Huge fruity notes of banana, coconut,  strawberries, apples and blackcurrants. It has those big varnish like notes but there is not as much burn as I was expecting. The age in the cask has certainly tamed it a little. It’s a huge nose but there is also a nice balance to it. There is a little spicy oak there and some calming vanilla. Touch of menthol – its very fresh and vibrant.

Sipped it is jam packed with flavour. Everything on the nose transfers into the mouth. Even tiny sips of this are incredible. It is initially sweet with a lot of banana and funky sweet alcohol driven notes. The mid palate introduces a nice amount of oak and some spiciness from the cask. It is one of the most intense rums I have ever tasted.

Even at full strength and taking into account the amount of flavour in the distillate it stills keeps itself in order. Once you get used to it its very easy to sip even at the full ABV. Each sip adds something else – mint, coconut, raisins, a touch of nail polish which gives these rums such a fresh taste.

The more I delve into Jamaican rum the more I am taken by the Pot Still rums that come out of Hampden, Long Pond and now New Yarmouth. All are similar. I would have thought that this was from Long Pond but I have tried Hampden rums where I have thought the same. I do not think the differences in the rums from these distilleries are as big as say Worthy Park. Worthy Park is a very modern operation and they produce a Jamaican rum which is quite a bit different to the rest, with no drop in quality it must be said.

This rum caused quite a fuss at London Rumfest. I immediately pointed out to anyone listening to try it. Florent Beuchet who runs Compagnie des Indes gave a very telling smile when I commented no how good it was.

Spending time with this rum at home I find this cask no less impressive than the one I had at London. This is rum for the more serious enthusiast. It’s not for everyone, miles away from Appleton 21 or Joy. Hugely funky, medicinal yet fresh and fruity. I really hope Florent has a lot more casks of this rum as it could becomes CDI’s signature…….

Stunning.