I like the presentation and I think it is the kind of thing which will catch the eye of serious rum drinkers and the more casual consumer. It looks “Premium”. (I will confess at this stage that I was asked by Zan – as I’m sure others were on ideas for the presentation – I was particularly clear on the bottle shape and strong branding). The “sweet” does not come from added sugar as sugar addition is not permitted according to the Jamaican Rum Standard. I could (and might well in the future) give this rum a 5 star rating but for now I’ll keep the bar high and see if they can exceed themselves beyond this rum….. In the glass Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve is a vibrant golden to dark brown with a nice yellow/orange hue. On the palate, not expectedly fruity and soft. There lives up a clear lovely line, fruit and more fruit, interspersed with grasses, sugar cane and yellow blooming flowers. These lead to the base of something bigger that wants to be discovered.

The rums in the blend are aged in once used ex-Bourbon barrels and have been aged between 6 and 10 years. They have noted on the rear label that this is “Pure Single Rum” under the Gargano Classification.

Start building a set…

The nose on Rum-Bar White Overproof is very pungent, probably due to the 100% Pot Still feature. It is full on Jamaican funk – think Smith & Cross and the obvious Wray and Nephew. It’s vegetal almost like freshly cut sugar cane. It smells of sweet alcohol mixed with freshly cut grass – there is an almost sour slightly fermented note.

The vapors enter the low wine retort, mingling with and heating the alcoholic liquid inside. The liquid in the low-wine retort is approx. 30%, exiting at approximately 60% abv. High-wine retort If you add a little water you get more exotic fruits Papaya and a little Passion Fruit some fermented Pineapple.Like the Clairin’s it is more interesting to sip than outright enjoyable. It’s too much at 63% neat – it just burns and tastes of alcohol. With water you begin to appreciate the depth of flavour. Banana, Papaya, sweet Passion fruit like notes, hints of grassy vegetal agricole like notes. There is a lot going on. Finally, the alcoholic vapors are condensed at the last stage of distillation, with rum exiting the still at 85-87%. Why Copper? They have two types of rum; Overproof and Gold, plus a Rum Cream Liqueur and even a Vodka all from the Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica. After drinking this rum straight I was prepared to give it a 3 as it was muted, hot, and frankly unpleasant. With water the complexity exploded into a multitude of delightful notes to the extent that I will rate it a solid 7.5. It’s clear to me that this rum simply needs to be diluted down to around 50% to allow it to truly shine…and shine it will. This is probably the perfect example of what Scott was referring to in his video about adding water to high Abv spirits to open up the flavors because man oh man is that evident here.Further nosing reveals banana and coconut. The nose is more along the lines of an aged Appleton Estate rum than a Hampden, Monymusk or Long Pond. It’s not aggressive or overly funky. It is more refined and softer than those heavier Jamaicans. Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve. I’ve been waiting quite a while for this one. I’m a big fan of Worthy Park’s Rum-Bar range. Which include a White Overproof, a Gold rum and a very tasty Rum Cream. At 45% the rum is quite “strong” for a commercial release – and the nose reflects the extra ABV. You can smell the rum without having to delve to much into the glass. It’s very “typical” of a Worthy Park release and shouldn’t surprise anyone who has tried any of the Independent bottlings or Worthy Park’s own Rum Bar Gold. It is, however a lot more refined than their Rum Bar Overproof. Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve is Worthy Park’s first step into the Premium rum market. It is a highly competitive market but the brand is getting talked about more and more in rum circles and it really does offer an alternative to Appleton Estate and Hampden rums. Worthy Park has its very own identity. There is a lot going on though and the nose is certainly more rounded than some of the European aged Worthy Park rums I have tried. Softer, gentler with slightly sweeter flavours and a touch more complexity.

The process is repeated in the high-wine retort, heating the alcoholic vapors, separating them from remaining water, flowing into the condenser at 85-87% abv. Condenser The notes of breakfast tea, so prevalent on the nose are not quite so evident until the finish. When they make a return alongside some more spicy oak and a touch of lemon zest. There may even be a hint of cardamom lurking in there. The finish is long and very enjoyable. On the finish, the fruit lingers on the tongue for a long time, the sugar cane lingers on it a bit longer. Over the past couple of years Independent bottlers have been releasing quite a lot of rums from Worthy Park. In the main these have been Single Barrel bottlings that were mainly aged in a European climate. They were sold young by Worthy Park. Which may make some of you think that this White Overproof may be refined and slightly lighter on flavour/funk. I’ve deliberately delayed reviewing this rum as I have been comparing and contrasting it to Wray and Nephew but also a Clairin from Haiti.In the nose ugly and pungent. Rotten fruit soaked in paint stripper is the first impression. Wait - wait - wait - and everything changes. You dive in and under the surface opens a paradise of scents. Grassy and floral scents mingle with all sorts of tropical fruits, pineapple, banana, papaya, vanilla and more tart directions like tobacco, leather and a drop of olive oil.