Episode 24: Worthy Park 2009 Habitation Velier 11 Year Jamaican Barrel Proof Single Rum

The Pot Still Column: Episode 24

Worthy Park 2009 Habitation Velier 11 Year Barrel Proof Jamaican Single Rum

Proof: 117

Age: 11 Years

Finish: Ex-Bourbon

Marque: 60-119 g/hl AA [WPL]

Source: Worthy Park Distillery (Jamaica)

Price: $99.00

Rum is a relatively new discovery to me, but the bizarre complexity that it brings to the table provides such a refreshing contrast to whiskey that I am solidly hooked on the spirit. The funky, deliciously disgusting notes that I find, especially in Jamaican rums, are so incredibly intriguing that they immediately bring a smile to my face. I've always been one to seek out the weirdest corners of what whiskey has to offer, but in the world of rum, most of the corners are weird.

On the nose, this barrel proof Worthy Park is jumping out of the glass with heavy but balanced esters. I am imagining myself swimming in a glorious pool of pineapple juice and Cheeto dust. I've had folks receive my insistence that ester-heavy rum smells like cheese with mixed levels of appreciation and agreement, but I stand firmly by it. This is a delicious concoction of caramel, acidic tropical fruit, and Doritos crumbles. The savory, meaty notes for which the ester is responsible produce an illusion of salinity. The briny and savory profile makes me wonder how this might behave if used to season some type of meat roast. I suspect that the hyper-flavorful Jamaican funk would add a unique element to a variety of culinary applications.

On the taste, the rum introduces itself to the palate with inoffensive notes of oak, caramel, and tropical fruit before evolving into a disastrous cacophony of dundery hogo flavors. Most prominently, the cheesy notes from the nose develop into a more chemical profile that includes notes of rubber, burning plastic, and decomposition. It's wonderful.

The chemical notes drift lazily into the finish, lingering for a moderate length of time before releasing the palate to gentler notes of guava, pineapple, and nondescript rum sweetness. The complete finish is lengthy and leaves a very pleasant warmth on the back of the palate for several minutes.

At the time of this review, I don't own a single bottle of good rum, but I have had enough friends generously offer samples and pours at bottle shares to know that I soon will. Perhaps this Worthy Park will be a good place to start, and I am already budgeting in preparation to grab a bottle. I can't provide a numerical score for the rum, as the breadth of my experience is far too narrow, but hopefully my descriptions can help you decide whether you wish to try it or not. This is an absolute winner for me, and I'll soon be joining the thousands of other whiskey lovers scrambling to buy high-end rums before the rum market begins to look like the bourbon market does now.

Thanks to Mike L. for the sample covered in today's review