M&S Distilled Jamaican Dark Rum
Introduction
Following on from some of Marks & Spencer’s other supermarket own label releases, today we are taking a look at the M&S Distilled Jamaican Dark Rum.
Supermarket own brands can often be a mixed bag. While some high-street retailers stick rigidly to generic profiles designed strictly for the mass market, others attempt to inject a bit of regional character into their releases. Or at least they used to.
Its been a while since a UK Supermarket did release anything beyond a generic White, Dark or Spiced Rum/Spirit Drink M&S has previously ventured into various origins across the rum producing world, including Barbados and Guyana. Now its Jamaica’s turn – they also have a White Jamaican Rum which I will also be reviewing soon.
The rum comes packaged in a nice 3/4 stubby style bottle with a short neck and what on first sighting appears to be a cork stopper but turns out to be a painted screw cap. The branding is clean and straightforward, fitting neatly into the M&S style presentation.
Crucially, turning the bottle around brings a welcome touch of transparency, the rear label explicitly notes that Sugar is added to the rum. While transparency is always a massive plus in my book, it does set expectations for what is waiting inside the glass.
It is bottled at a respectable 40% ABV, which at least avoids the dreaded lowest strength dilution trap, giving it a baseline of structure to work with, maybe…….
When looking at supermarket iterations claiming a Jamaican pedigree, exact transparency on the specific distillery or sourcing is notoriously sparse as is usually the case with major high street own labels. While official descriptions broadly point toward a blend of Column and Pot Still distillates crafted somewhere on the island, the exact provenance remains safely tucked behind corporate confidentiality. ,
As the previous M&S offering their disappointing Bajan Estate XO was sourced from West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD) which is owned by Maison Ferrand I’ll take an educated guess that the rum in this bottle likely comes from National Rums of Jamaica (NRJ) which is part owned also by Maison Ferrand.
NRJ are primarily suppliers of Jamaican rum for blends and cheaper Jamaican rum, amongst other things! So we have rum from Long Pond and Clarendon. NRJ own brand rum is Monymusk – which if I’m being honest isn’t always a favourite of mine.
The rum bears all the typical hallmarks of mass market bulk sourcing from the region, so let’s see how this particular Jamaican offering shapes up in the glass.
Tasting
Poured into the glass, the rum presents a dark amber hue.
Bringing the glass to the nose, there are some initial flickers of classic Jamaican character hints of funky pot still ester, banana, and molasses. However, it doesn’t take long for the heavy hand of the dosage to make its presence felt. A thick sweetness dominates the aroma profile, pushing the more delicate, underlying distillery characteristics firmly into the background.
On the palate, you can tell that there is some underlying Jamaican spirit here that wants to offer a bit of regional personality, but it is largely suffocated.
Hydrometer density testing reveals a dosage of 19g/L 35% on a 40% ABV. That level of sugar completely flattens the nuances of the distillation. Instead of experiencing the punchy, vibrant, and funky profile typical of traditional Jamaican molasses rums, you are met with a wave of cloying brown sugar, flickers of a hint of artificial vanilla, and a generic saccharin sweetness. Its very bitter as well and quite sharp. Its got a lot of flavour trouble is its not very nice.
To give credit where it’s due, its one saving grace is its bottled at a respectable 40% ABV, meaning it retains a tiny bit of structural backbone and doesn’t feel entirely watery. I like this a little more than the more expensive Bajan Estate XO it has some Jamaican character but its largely flattened by the dosage and ends up tasting similar to most other supermarket dark rums.
It sits firmly in mixer category and is really only suited to Cola or Ginger Beer. Its all a bit too much for any drink that require any kind of balance, subtlety or nuance. It’s like a very shit dosed Myers’s or a bad version of Captain Morgan Dark. In fairness the base distillates used probably aren’t too different to those used in those rums.
The finish is non existent just a bitter, slightly jarring mess and you are left with a lingering sticky, sugary film left coating the mouth. There is no development of aged distillates or funk at all with this rum. It finishes pretty much as it began. A faint hint of pot still spice tries to peek through at the very end, but it quickly dissipates behind the residual sweetness.
Sipping this is a thoroughly unpleasant experience. It’s got a fair bit of flavour to it – but its not Jamaican Funk its just heavy handed sugar and bitter caramel.
Verdict
The M&S Distilled Jamaican Dark Rum isn’t really much of a step up at all from the generic Supermarket Dark Rums. Its not going to give you an experience like Kingston 62 or Appleton Signature. I wouldn’t pick it over Myers’s or even Captain Morgan Dark Rum. You get a nice bottle for the £20 and slighty higher ABV but there is nothing really to recommend with this rum I’m afraid.
For the enthusiast looking for authentic Jamaican character and unadulterated craftsmanship, the heavy dosage acts as a massive roadblock. While I applaud M&S for being transparent on the rear label showing that Sugar is added to the rum, the liquid inside leaves a lot to be desired.
It has some faint Jamaican character but its largely flattened by the dosage and ends up tasting similar to most other supermarket dark rums.
Final Thoughts: I’m just left wondering how this would have tasted without the “dosage”.
