This pot still rum from Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica gave us strong notes of toasted sugar and banana, with subtler hints of oak, orange, pineapple, allspice, and vanilla.

Worthy Park 109 is a high proof pot still rum from Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica. The back of the bottle reads “Using only our own molasses with fermentation times up to 3 weeks and distilled in our 100% copper double retort pot-still. This blend is composed of a combination of various marks of both our un-aged and aged rums.” Worthy Park’s single estate operation truly makes it unique in the world of Jamaican distillers. Bottled at 54.5% ABV, the minimal dilution the unique character of Worthy Park really shines through. While the presence of un-aged rums means the minimum age statement is technically zero, it clearly uses younger distillate as an accent to its overall lightly aged profile.

In the lab we measured a density of 0.921g/cc, indicating no added sugar. It doesn’t carry the text “no additives are used in blending of this rum” that’s found on Rum-Bar gold, and from a brief glance it’s pretty obvious there’s some added color. While the phrase “black rum” doesn’t appear on the bottle, it’s clear the 109 is gunning for the spot on on bar normally reserved for Coruba or Myer’s.

On the nose there’s a lot of depth: chocolate, cola, banana, toasted sugar, and oak, along with a parade of support fruits in the background. On the palate the oak and banana carry over, joined by a little orange, some bubble gum. There’s some spiciness, indexing on allspice and vanilla. The finish moderate length and very satisfying, calling back to the chocolate on the nose, and spices on the palate.

In our blind taste test we thought it was pretty good as a neat sipper (7.8/10) and great as a mixer (8.1/10). Overall this a great rum with tons of complexity and flavor; it’s a great demonstration of Jamaican rum as a whole, and of Worthy Park as a distillery. It’s high proof may make it an aggressive sipping experience for someone new to rum, but flavor density makes it incredible to have in your arsenal for mixing. There’s something about this rum that is so damn charming; beyond it’s incontrovertible utility, it has a personality.