S.B.S - The 1423 Single Barrel Selection Jamaica 2007 PX Cask Finish

S.B.S – The 1423 Single Barrel Selection Jamaica 2007 PX Cask Finish

Bythefatrumpirate September 6, 2019

S.B.S – The 1423 Single Barrel Selection Jamaica 2007 PX Cask Finish. Rums from Jamaica have really taken off again over the past couple of years. The renaissance of the Worthy Park Estate and Hampden finally bottling their own aged rum, along with a number of very interesting high ester Jamaican bottlings from the likes of Kill Devil and Letter of Marque. All this activity, has really invigorated Jamaican rum.

Further released from the Long Pond distillery from the likes of Velier (in conjunction with National Rums of Jamaica) and Plantation have kept interest high during 2018.

Danish bottler 1423 are now getting in on the game in the form of their own S.B.S selections. They have chosen to bottle a rum from Monymusk (part of Long Pond/Clarendon distillery) – the name is actually taken from the sugar plantation rather than the name of a distillery, as such.

Monymusk have their own “brand” of rums and rum noted as being from/in the style of Monymusk is included in Captaiin Morgan’s dark rum.

1423 have 241 bottles of this PX Sherry Finished Monymusk rum available at a Cask Strength of 59% ABV. It is non-chill filtered and contains no additives. The rum was distilled back in 2007 on a Pot Still. It was bottled following a secondary maturation in PX Casks in Denmark in September 2018. A bottle of this rum will set you back around £100 in the UK.

In the glass the rum is a dark brown with a reddish/orange hue. The nose is an interesting one. It is not immediately recognisable as Jamaican rum. The PX influence is very strong. Large wafts of sweet, fruity sherry stand out on the nose.

Plump raisins and sultanas with a waft of sweet banoffee pie. Thick cut Seville Orange marmalade and some really zesty lemon peel. Further nosing reveal ginger, some more citrus fruit and a hint of clove. A little kick of white pepper as you nose further.

On the sip you get a very peppery hit of black pepper and some fennel seed. A touch of licorice and some almost tarry notes. It has a really big kick to it and tastes very much like its 59% ABV. Water helps a little but it doesn’t transform the rum as much as I would have liked.

I’ve been disappointed overall with rums hailing as being from Monymusk. They seem heavy on the alcohol but not all that good flavourwise. Not very funky and not really what I am looking for in a Jamaican rum.

The PX finish on this one does improve what I feel might be a fairly average distillate but its still not grabbing me. Overall its rough and a bit too boozy. It lacks fruitiness and doesn’t have enough funk to keep me interested.

It’s not a rum I could have more than a glass or two of. It’s just not very exciting. Th rum is hot and boozy and just a little too much of sherry. Beyond that I just don’t get much out of it.

The mid palate don’t really evolve from the initial burst of sherry and pepper – it all kind of just fades out into basically…….booze.

I’m disappointed with this to be honest – In terms of Jamaican rums its way down the list. It’s despite all the negativity, not a terrible rum but I wouldn’t pick it over a great number of other Jamaican rums.

On the plus side it is a change from the flow of similar Hampden rums from various Independent bottlers but I feel the original distillate just wasn’t punchy and flavourful enough. The PX finish has tried to add to this and possibly has done something positive but I’m struggling with this.

Not my favourite 1423 S.B.S by some way!

Dead Man's Fingers

Dead Man’s Fingers – Spiced Rum
Bythefatrumpirate December 17, 2016December 18, 2016

Dead Man’s Fingers is a Spiced Rum. First released in 2015 by The Rum and Crab Shack, St Ives, Cornwall. Initially the rum was only available in the bar/restaurant (which has since expanded to another branch in Exeter). It is now pushing for a national release and is already available from a number of UK online retailers.

Dead Man’s Fingers can relate to a number of “things” in the natural world such as coral and seaweed. In this instance its a homage to the amount of Crab sold at the Crab Shack. Dead Man’s Fingers can refer to Crab’s gills.

As you might guess from the leading photograph they have focused upon strong branding and you can already purchase branded T-Shirts and other merchandise online. Sailor Jerry has built its success on a strong brand identity and as was evidenced at the recent UK Rumfest in London Dead Man’s Fingers also know how to get a buzz going surrounding their product. Their stand was very popular and their representatives very helpful and very fun. Their website whilst brief also keeps up the presentation and branding

The rum is noted as “small batch” this is likely more down to the overall production of the spiced rum as a whole rather than the distilled product at the base of this rum. A 70cl bottle of Dead Man’s Fingers will set you back around £25 it clocks in at 37.5% ABV. The rum comes in a standard bar bottle with a metal screw cap.

In the glass Dead Man’s Fingers is a typical Spiced/Gold Rum colour. Nice golden/reddish brown. A kind of standard “rum” colour which many producers seem to adopt.

It doesn’t cling to the glass when swirled and but you do get a good nose of spices before you even start nosing properly.

Which is a slight concern. On the nose I’m initially struck by a very familiar smell. Vanilla and I’m getting waft after waft of it. Reminiscent of old style UK Sailor Jerry, Old J Spiced, RedLeg and even Rumbullion. My initial thoughts are not that profile all over again………..sweet vanilla and caramel.

It’s not that I don’t like Vanilla nor do I have aversion to it per se. It’s just that with years of trying Spiced Rums and reviewing a good number it becomes a little predictable and safe. Personally, I see little point in producing something so similar to a number of brands already out there.

It’s not all vanilla but the other notes are equally safe and equally popular. Cinnamon, citrus peel and some very sweet caramel. If you like this kind of thing or aren’t bored of it- great. Unfortunately I’m left non-plussed up to now.

I’ll try sipping to start with. I fully expect to mix though and any half decent spiced rum should make a decent rum and coke!

Sipping offers my first real surprise. It is nowhere near as sweet as the nose implies. In actual fact the orange peel/marmalade notes really shine through. It’s reasonably complex – some nice more natural tasting notes of cinnamon, brown sugar and a little saffron spice. The vanilla has become much more muted, having all but disappeared. If you wanted an after dinner drink this wouldn’t be terrible with a chunk of ice and a squeeze of lime (or maybe orange?).

Mixing with a little cola again it works. The cola also tempers the nose down a notch or two. There’s a nice balance to this and a nice mix of spices working in the mix. I couldn’t drink a lot of this though. It is still quite big on the sicklier caramel/brown sugar notes but its nowhere near as full on as the likes of the atrocious Old J Spiced Gold.

It’s not the best spiced rum I have ever had but its far from the worst. Slightly above average and at £25 probably well worth a punt if you are a bit of Spiced rum fan. I’d arguably choose a bottle of this over Sailor Jerrys if I had to buy one of them again.

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Original Soggy Dollar Old Dark Rum

Original Soggy Dollar Old Dark Rum
Bythefatrumpirate August 10, 2020August 11, 2020

Original Soggy Dollar Old Dark Rum. The Soggy Dollar is a bar situated in the British Virgin Isles, Jost Van Dyke isle to be exact. It is perhaps most famous for it’s claim to be the original creators of the famed Pusser’s Painkiller cocktail. You can read a little more on that story here.

The Soggy Dollar bar started life as a six seat beach bar which was only really accessible by boat. You could also try swimming to the sandy beach in White Bay where the bar is housed. Hence the term “Soggy Dollar” as your dollars got soggy on the swim over. The bar is still a popular tourist attraction and has its own site complete with a webcam. So you can see the daily goings on at the bar. If you are into that kind of thing.

Original Soggy Dollar Old Dark Rum is available here in the UK at around £30 a bottle. Amazon and Master of Malt currently stock it. They also have a Spiced variant. It is “a handcrafted custom blend of select regional aged rums from across the Caribbean; triple distilled from cane sugar molasses and aged in American old oak casks”. This of course from the rums own website. Which sadly doesn’t give me much information on the actual rums. I’ll come to that later.

It is bottled at a standard 40% ABV. They also have an Island Spiced Rum available in similar packaging but with a slightly different colour scheme. The bottle is actually quite nice 3/4 size stubby bottle with a short neck and a nice chunky synthetic cork stopper. The glass is engraved with some detailing about the Soggy Dollar Bar. It looks quite premium for the price point it is at.

I’ve not tried a rum from the British Virgin Isles – for a while Pusser’s Rum was bottled theere. Cruzan is the closest I have come hailing from the neighbouring US Virgin Isles. I did review their Single Barrel a good while back. However, it is worth noting that this a Caribbean rum rather than one made solely from rum produced in the BVI. At least that’s what the bottle and marketing leads me to believe anyway…….

The nose is light and authentic. I’m getting an admittedly mostly column distilled type of lighter Caribbean rum but I am not nosing anything “suspicious” which might suggest additives of any kind. It’s clean and light with a nice balance of toffee, vanilla and some quite “fresh” smelling oak spices and a touch of nutmeg and ginger.

It’s not particularly punchy or hefty but it’s a nicely balanced nose that doesn’t do much wrong to be fair. It doesn’t smell particularly old – I’d guess around 3-5 maybe lower in terms of the overall blend. It’s honest enough though and it isn’t a particularly pricy rum.

Sipped it’s a little rougher around the edges and it shows a fair bit of youth on the first sip. It’s fierier than the nose suggests with a slightly bitter edge to it and a fair hit of wood and oak spices. It has a slightly perfumed tastes as well particularly once the wood and fiery alcohol on the sip begin to fade.

Overall it tastes quite young, 3 year old tops for this and I would suggest it likely has a high proportion of quite young column distilled rum either from Angostura or Cruzan. It’s not awful and it maintains a decent “rummy” profile, particularly with the woody notes but it isn’t hugely flavourful.

As a sipper it’s all just a bit to short. The initial sip and mid palate are brief and the finish? Well, it’s a blink and you miss it showing. It just quickly fades from light perfume and a touch of vanilla to pretty much nothing but a slow burn of alcohol and woody bitterness.

Whilst this rum is a bit rough and ready it is saved by its general “lightness” – it tempts at being quite aggressive on the initial sip but it’s very much like a yappy dog in that it’s bark is far worse than it’s bite. It just sniffs at your trouser leg and can barely make a mark in your jeans.

Quite what the actual components are in this rum? I’m not sure quite what the “triple distillation” has added is lost on me. It’s probably dulled the flavours a fair bit. It sounds good when used in Vodka terminology but it’s a big turn off for any flavourful spirit that doesn’t rely on tasting of nothing.

It’s likely some of the rum in the bottle will come from Cruzan Distillery based at St Croix, US Virgin Isles. I’d also suggest maybe some Barbados and Trini rum is in there. Beyond that, I doubt there is any Jamaican or any kind of real Pot Still heavy rum or blend. It’s all just very column like. Light and a little sweet.

As a mixer it is a okay for a £30 rum but in fairness there are many equals at a lower price point and quite competent sippers available for just a few pounds more.

If it were £20 it might be worth the occasional splurge but at £30 it is overpriced. It’s not a bad little rum but it’s pretty average and I won’t be be buying it.

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Ninefold Distillery Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum - Release #1

Ninefold Distillery Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum – Release #1
Bythefatrumpirate October 1, 2020October 1, 2020

Ninefold Distillery Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum – Release #1. This is the first aged rum release from Scotland’s Ninefold Rum Distillery. It follows on from last years unaged release of Pot Still Pure Single Rum.

The distillery is situated in the South of Scotland at Dormont Home Farm, near Dalton in Dumfries and Galloway. The distillery is house in a converted stone farm building. Their rums are produced on a Scottish made Copper Pot Still. Should you wish to learn more about Ninefold Distillery then their website is a good start. I also interviewed Kit Carruthers Head Distiller/Owner here.

So, lets move on and see exactly what the make up of this rum is. First up the rum is a blend of the four “experimental” rums produced at the distillery in 2019. There are 4 barrels of this rum available and this is barrel #1. I am assuming the remaining barrels will be aged for longer periods and released at a later date. Quite an easy assumption to make I would think, unless Dr Carruthers has a time machine…….I wouldn’t put it past him.

The rum is produced from imported molasses and distilled in small batches on a purpose built Copper Pot Still. This release has been aged for 12 months in a Virgin American Small White Oak Barrel. A fresh bourbon barrel if you want to think of it that way.

There were 246 70cl bottles of Ninefold Distillery Barrel Aged Pure Single Rum – Release #1 available upon release. The rum has been individually bottled and hand signed by Kit. I have bottle number 78 as this was the year of my birth (and 13 had already been sold).

It has been bottled at Cask Strength so comes in at a hefty 59.6% ABV. It is available direct from Ninefold and retails at £45.

Presentation wise Ninefold have a very strong branding throughout their website and bottlings. Once again they have produced a very premium and very modern looking product. To be honest if I ever do a bottling I’ll be asking Kit who his graphic designer is, as I think the presentation is top notch. I love the 3/4 sized bottle and the chunky wooden topped synthetic cork stopper gives a very satisfying “pop” when opened.

Which is exactly what I have just done.

I’m not one for directing people to music videos (I find it a bit pretentious) but if you click on the following link and go to around 00:50 you will get my general impression of the nose on this…….

Thick, indulgent, treacly, sweet, golden, syrupy goodness. Caramac bars, you might have to look those up (and probably everything that is about to follow), Highland Toffee, Tunnocks Caramel Wafers, Red Kola, Macaroni Pie, Haggis, Neeps, Tatties, Kilts, Russ Abbot Wigs (okay I may be making a few of those up)

Seriously though the nose on this is a full on molasses assault. A bit of time in the glass to breathe is needed to see if anything else comes through on the nose. Which it does some super glue and pencil shavings kick in. Black Pepper and some menthol cough sweets. It’s medicinal with a nice back drop of some oak and freshly chopped wood.

It’s fiery, boozy and menacing – the molasses notes are dark and rich. Thick and gloopy.

Sipped at the full 59.6% ABV it is hot. Boozy and full of flavour. The woody notes of oak are warm and very intense. Lots of wood, ginger and fiery chilli pepper heat. It takes a glass or two to get used to this wee beastie.

It’s worth sitting with though and giving time. Once your senses have recovered (and maybe you’ve added a drop or two of water) the rum really opens up.

The initial entry is sweet with all the molasses notes promised on the nose. The mid palate is full of spicy green jalapeno’s and rich warming oak spice. The absence of vanilla is probably due to the Virgin Oak – I’d be keen to try this in an ex-bourbon barrel as it might give it a slightly softer, more approachable aura.

That said I’m enjoying this. It’s finish is quite savoury with yet more spice and a slightly malty note. It’s long and it becomes very “minty” with lots of menthol and cough mixture like elements kicking in.

In many ways this rum is a bit of a a funny one. It’s big, bold and brash but at the same time has a sweetness and a “more-ish” factor to it which really draws you in.

Beyond sipping I think this will also work really well in any cocktail that demands a bit of “oomph”. Both in terms of ABV and full on flavour this really delivers. I dare say this would work well in a Mai Tai or as a very boozy Daiquiri. My signature serve a Rum and Coke has went down very nicely and I dare say this is very definitely fally down juice……..

Hoots Mon! There’s joose, loose aboot Kit’s hoose………….

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Tilambic 151 Overproof Aged Rum

Tilambic 151 Overproof Aged Rum
Bythefatrumpirate January 30, 2019

Tilambic 151 Overpoof Aged Rum. The world of Overproof rum is quite an interesting one. Bottlers producing rum, which you are then advised not to take neat, as it may be hazardous to your health.

The most famous examples of Overproof 151 (75.5% ABV) rum are Bacardi 151 and Lemon Hart Demerara. Whilst Bacardi 151 seems to be most common in American frathouses – Lemon Hart has built up quite a following amongst Tiki bartenders who use the rum sparingly, as a float in drinks such as Zombies.

Other less severe versions of Overproof rum exist, in the shape of Navy Rums such as Pusser’s 54.5% ABV/109 proof and Woods 57% ABV/114 proof.

An even more extreme example can be found in the form of Sunset’s Extra Strong White Rum 84.5%ABV/169 proof. If that still isn’t strong enough for you then try Marienburg Rum, which is bottled at 90% ABV/180 proof. Very close to being neutral spirit if we are being honest.

Tilambic 151 Overproof is different to a lot of these Overproof rums. It has has been given some considerable time, ageing in Oak Casks. Up to 7 years.

The rum is produced by International Distillers Mauritius, from molasses on their 30 foot Column stills. It is not available domestically. The rum is actually produced under license for Green Island who import a number of Mauritian products into the UK.

The rum has recently been re-branded and the design is now a bit flashier and bit more up-to date. The tall bar bottle is nice and the screw cap is of good quality – not cheap and flimsy like some. In the UK a bottle retails at around £35 which is pretty standard for an Overproof.

Tilambic is acutally the old Creole word for “Moonshine” – strong rum, was originally produced by the people of Mauritius, on small alembic pot stills. Tilambic 151 Overproof has received some favourable reviews from both Lance and Steve James at Rum Diaries Blog. Also the sticker on the bottle shows that Tilambic 151 Overproof won a Gold at The Spirits Business Rum Masters in 2015. So it would seem this Mauritian Rum isn’t to shabby at all.

In the glass Tilambic 151 Overproof is a light/golden brown colour. It doesn’t appear to have had much colouring added.

The nose is pretty boozy with some sweet alcohol notes – were this a younger rum with less ABV, I would but that down to young sweet alcohol. As it has been aged, it must be mostly due to the ABVy. It is, despite this relatively speaking, quite light and sweet on the nose. There is a slightly herbal note about it and a fair amount of sugar cane, some light caramel and a touch of molasses.

Sipping this at full ABV, is not as brutal an experience as you might expect. It is very hot and boozy on the palate with a really big hit of sugary alcohol on the sip but it isn’t too unpleasant to be honest. Just sip very slowly and infrequently!

Once the intial sweetness subsides, you can taste some smoky notes and light spicy oak. Some of the herbal notes on the nose return as well. The finish is short as far as I can tell but by this point my palate is pretty much numbed.

Returning to this rum at a later date – and with a few drops of water I can appreciate the actual flavours of the rum. In many ways it sips more like a Cask Strength rum than a 151 headbanger. It has a fair amount of subtlety to it.

The mid palate and finish especially are much more complex with a real weight of oaky spice and some slightly grassy/herbal notes.

Whilst it is not bad as a sipper – it’s not really the greatest you will ever taste. It’s still a bit short and sharp particularly on the finish.

Where Tilambic 151 shines is in mixed drinks. A rum and cola or even a rum and lemonade with Tilambic 151 are very tasty drinks. In terms of a 151, I believe it would be useful to any bartender looking to add a bit oomph to a cocktail but not wanting to effect the aesthetic, by using a caramel coloured 151 (as many are).

That said, it’s a lot more complex when mixed than a lot of Overproof or 151 rums. It’s got a really distinctive note to it, that I can’t describe beyond “herbal”. It also has a light smokiness to it which is a really nice addition. The sweet notes of toffee and molasses also shine through when mixed even with heavier mixers such as Ginger Beer and Cola.

It has a nice balance to it and it is very dangerously drinkable like this. Go easy, as once you start making rum and cola’s with this it can disappear very quickly – much quicker than your hangover the next day!

It’s a distinctive rum and one I have enjoyed a lot. I would recommend trying this if you are seeking out a 151 style of rum with a bit of a more subtle nuanced profile.

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Santiago de Cuba Anejo

Santiago de Cuba Anejo
Bythefatrumpirate August 11, 2016August 11, 2016

Santiago de Cuba rums are quite frustrating bottlings to find. This is not because this site is American but imports of these rums seem to be quite sporadic. All manner of different aged expressions seem to come out of the distillery as well.

It is quite confusing sometimes to work out which is which. It is not unusual to see older style bottles still for sale online.

Luckily for the UK, JBE Imports (who also import the excellent Ron Cubay) are now importing three Santiago de Cuba expressions. Carta Blanca, Anejo and Extra Anejo 12 Year Old. The latter is reported to be Fidel Castro’s favourite rum.

This rum is often noted as being a 7 year old. To be fair to the brand, I have never seen this on any of the bottles. The Extra Anejo is noted as a 12 year old rum – age statements are also present on the 11, 15, 20 and 25 year old rums. How often all these expressions are actually released is unclear. They do seem to appear only briefly and irregularly.

This rum is currently available online at Master of Malt for £24.95. It is bottled at 38% ABV. It comes in a stubby 3/4 height 70cl bottle. The presentation has been updated in the past few years to align with the logo used in the older expressions – its clear and unfussy. If a little uninspired.

From what I can gather, Santiago de Cuba is produced at the same rum distiilery that the Bacardi family were forced to leave during the Cuban revolution. Ron Caney is also produced at this facility amongst others. From researching Cuban rum it seems that a great number of different brands all seem to come out of the same distilleries. Which makes me wonder just how different each expression actually is!

Part of this curiosity has led me to invest in a few different Cuban rums. I can then taste a few alongside each other and look for similarities. It would be quite embarrassing if I awarded brands different scores and then found the juice to be exactly the same. Not that I am saying that is the case, not yet anyway!

In the glass the rum is a nice reddish/golden brown. The nose is unmistakably Cuban. It is reminiscent of the older Havana Club rums. It’s sweet smelling, an almost red wine like note – almost descending into a vinegary aroma, slightly acidic. There is a little vanilla and some dark chocolate notes and tobacco.

As an “anejo” it may or may not stand up as a sipper. To be fair most don’t really stand up to being sipped as they are only a few years old. Many Gran Anejo’s aren’t that impressive as sippers either! They are terms to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Sipped the Anejo is very spicy. It doesn’t taste young in terms of alcohol burn or overly sweet immature notes. It is pretty sharp on the palate though. You get a spicy burst, followed by some oak. Most of the flavour – the vanilla and chocolate leaves the taste buds almost instantly. The finish whilst reasonably long is very one dimensional, oaky and bitter.

Sipping this rum is not an unpleasant experience but its a pretty short lived one in terms of flavour.

As a mixer the rum works very well. A Cuba Libre made with the SDC Anejo is a very tasty experience. The oak and tobacco notes shine. You get the sweeter red wine like notes and you get a nice spicy rummy kick along the way as well.

All in all not a bad Cuban rum and if memory serves me correctly, its a good deal better than Havana Club 7.

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Habitation Velier Forsyths WP 502

Habitation Velier Forsyths WP 502
Bythefatrumpirate January 25, 2017

Another release from Habitation Velier. This time we are seeing Velier partnering up with Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica for this release.

First up I will help with the title for this rum. Fortunately as well as providing us with a rather confusing and slightly obscure title, Velier have also provided us with extensive notes on the production and origin of this rum.

This is an unaged White Rum from the Worthy Park Estate, Jamaica. Due to a three month fermentation period this rum is rich in congeners (I won’t try and explain what these are a Google Search will help you there). It is distilled on Worthy Park’s Forsyth Pot Still. It was distilled and bottled in 2015.

In the UK a bottle will set you back around £50 it is bottled at 57% ABV. Presentation wise you get a nice sturdy carboard sleeve and a flask style bottle with a nice corked enclosure. The design on the Habitation range is a bit more “contempory” than the previous Velier bottlings.

I have experienced both Velier and Worthy Park bottlings in the past and I have rarely been disappointed with either. Worthy Park already have a Pot Still White Rum on the market in the shape of the their own Rum Bar White Overproof. Another Italian bottler has also released an overproof white Worthy Park rum – Rum Nation.

If you aren’t familiar with Jamaican rum especially Jamaican White Overproof rum then I wouldn’t advise starting out by paying £50 for a bottle. I’m not saying it is bad in anyway but it is very different to what a lot of people may expect from rum. Especially White Rum.

As mentioned already this rum has a lot of congeners. One of the things with congeners is that they add a lot of flavour to rum. In this instance they will deliver a lot of what is called “funk”. Jamaican “funk” is very much an acquired taste. You may never enjoy the more robust Jamaican rums.

Luckily I do and I’m walking into this review with a pretty good idea of what to expect. I think……..

So lets get stuck into some “funk” then. First up as expected the rum is pretty much crystal clear. I’ve just offered the glass to my vodka drinking wife and upon nosing I’ve been told “I’m not even trying that – that’s bloody disgusting!”

I’ll make a more reasoned assessment of the nose. Nail varnish, bruised bananas, apricots, peaches and even maybe a touch of that cheap candy chocolate substitute you sometimes find on chocolate raisins. It is big no sorry its huge its a huge nostril full of Jamaican funk. However it is noticeably less grassy than the Rum Bar Overproof or Wray and Nephew White Overproof. It seems sweeter and less vegetal.

At 57% ABV it is pretty much at my upper limit for sipping. Sipping at this strength it is surprisingly sweet tasting. I’m getting a lot of sugar cane sweetness and nowhere near as much ferocity as I was expecting. It is tingling my tongue but its relatively easy going. With a little water added it makes for a quite pleasant but relatively simple sipper.

It doesn’t have quite as much complexity as I expected from the nose. It seems to be missing some of the more vegetal tones you usually get with a Jamaican white overproof. In some ways it is almost a little “refined” especially in the finish which I swear is giving me some nice oaked notes.

When I reviewed Wray and Nephew and Rum Bar Overproof I acquired quite a taste for Ting (a grapefruit soda from Jamaica) which I enjoyed with plenty of ice and the rum. It also made some pretty funky Rum and Colas.

Clearly at £50 a bottle you may be looking for something other than a mixer. If you do enjoy a more challenging style of rum then you probably will get plenty enjoyment out of this rum as a sipper. I’ll probably sip a little but mix it more often or even have it in cocktails.

I think its really interesting that Velier are releasing these kinds of rums. They seem very keen to push the category in all kinds of different directions.

This is a really well made and at times quite surprising rum. As long as you know what you are buying before you take the plunge you should enjoy it very much.

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