Tasting

Wray & Nephew White Overproof smells of fruit before the alcohol even registers. Difford's Guide describes pineapple, overripe banana, orange peel, coconut flakes and molasses. On the palate, the heat arrives first, then caramel, nuts and tropical fruit, finishing with banana, pineapple and passion fruit.

At 63% ABV, deep inhaling is not advised. A small nosing glass with a narrow rim, held loosely, and a distance of a few centimetres from the nose are enough to read the aroma. Otherwise the nose gets overwhelmed before it can pick out the fruit.

Water helps. A few drops from a pipette — never a splash — take the edge off the rum and let the fruit and molasses sweetness come forward. Room temperature is sufficient, since chilling would close off the aroma. A sip of water after each taste keeps the palate from going numb.

Three names serve as good examples of rum from this area: the aforementioned Wray & Nephew White Overproof from New Yarmouth, Rum-Bar Overproof from Lluidas Vale at the same 63% ABV, and the Monymusk brand from Clarendon, which represents aged rum from the south. Comparing them reveals how pot still proportion, fermentation and maturation shape white rum.

Smelling the two overproofs side by side makes it clear: equal strength doesn't mean equal rum. Worthy Park has no dunder pits, while Wray & Nephew includes column distillate, and both factors shape the aroma. This isn't a verdict but a demonstration of how far apart Jamaican rums can be, even at the same proof.