Jefferson’s Very Rare 24 year Old Rum is the second release from “The Rum Story” visitor attraction, based in Whitehaven, Cumbria, North West England.

The attraction explores the history of the rum trade and in particular the Jefferson family who until 1998, when the shop the attraction is now housed in closed, where the oldest Wine and Spirits Merchants in the UK.  With a history tracing back to 1785.

The original Jefferson’s rum was a blend of Demerara and Jamaican rum, with the Jamaican element coming to the fore.  Very much like The Duppy Share.  This release is a continuation of that rum.  The original Jefferson’s contains 8 year old rum blends, this release is a blend of a Jamaican and Demerara rum the youngest of which was distilled in 1991.  The oldest rum in this blend is actually 26 years old.  The rums used in this release are again a blend of both Jamaican and Demerara blends – just considerably older.  The rum has been aged in Bourbon casks for the majority of its maturation in Liverpool, England.

There are only 250 bottles of this rum available.  It comes in an attractive olde worlde style ships decanter with a very substantial cork stopper with RJH stamped across the top and Cask 1 noted.  The rum was released with an RRP of £95 – reasonable for a rum of this age.  It is available exclusively from the Rum Story .  This is bottle number 73 of 250.  It is bottled at an ABV of 43%.

The rum comes in a protective cardboard presentation box and you get a nice hand numbered scroll with each bottle.  Presentation wise they have really pushed the boat out.  The presentation box contains some more information on the history of the Jefferson family.

In the glass the rum is a fairly standard golden brown – from memory I think the original Jefferson’s may have been darker.

The nose is quite subdued for a Jamaican/Demerara blend.  It is nicely balanced though and unmistakably it is rum.  Unsurprisingly for a rum of this age it is quite oaky on the nose.  There is a little of the Jamaican rum coming through but only in very fleeting wafts.  The sweetness of the nose is provided by the Demerara rum.  The overarching aroma is that of oak with a hint of smokiness.

When sipped you begin to appreciate more the Jamaican component in the blend.  The sweetness is there – a touch of banana and upfront a little toffee.  As with the nose though it is not long before all those years in oak barrels begin to take over.  It is a very dry rum with a lot of oak in the mix.  It is easily up there with Smooth Ambler’s Revelation rum in terms of that.

Which in someways is a bit of a shame.  I like the fruitness of a good Jamaican and the sweetness of a Demerara.  Black bananas and raisins were what I was expecting with this.  That is pretty much what you get with the younger Jefferson’s.  You don’t get that hear.

The rum also seems to have taken on a bit of a strange almost “minty” taste alongside the oak.  A touch soapy.

This isn’t a bad rum but at £95 it doesn’t offer anything to shout about.  It’s not a rum you would pour to people and wow them with.  I would say it has probably been aged for too long.   It’s lost some of its youthful character and more importantly flavour.

If you like a really dry oaky rum then this you’ll enjoy immensely.  If you are looking for a punchy blend such as The Duppy Share – stick with that.  Or just stick with the bog standard Jefferson’s it offer much better value for money.