Jamaicans, while known for their white overproofs (think Hampden’s Rum Fire, J. Wray White Overproof and Worthy Park’s own Rum Bar) and of course their funkiness, are less famed for anything to do with cane juice. Yet, for once, here, we have a rip snorting 54% piece of cane juice derived liquid gelignite channeling both agricole purity and Jamaican funk-badassery, that causes innocent Caners to expire at the side of the road after taking a snootful. No, really
Unfortunately, this is something of a limited special edition, released on behalf of a NY based spirits distribution company called Skurnik Wine & Spirits, so it’s not part of the official lineup, though it is enclosed in a Worthy Park style bottle and is wrapped in a label we all recognize. But when you consider the specs – cane juice, 2-3 weeks’ fermentation, pot still distilled in 2024 on a double retort Forsythe’s pot still, 54%, unaged – you can see why it’s one of those white rums that is worth trying out. And for those who like to identify the marques, it’s WPE-CJN (Worthy Parke Extra from Cane Juice), with ester count up to 800 g/hL AA, placing it comfortable in the mid range of the Jamaican funky bastards, which some contend is also their sweet spot.
What this means, is that it’s at right angles to anything else coming out of Jamaica right now — if pressed, I’d say it was actually closer to that first Foursquare LFT white that came out a few years ago. And that was no slouch either, as you may recall.
Lest ye disbelieving snickerers raised on Bacardi Superior feel I doth jest, just take a sniff of the rum, and observe how it claws its way out of the bottle (hang on, give me a moment to stand clear). People, that pungent nose froths, it spits, it gurgles and it clearly wants your glottis for lunch. It immediately smells of new glue, bright glittering acetones, wax, bags of green olives, and enough salt to flavour a small inland sea. The sweetness tames that rough edge a little, and we can sense grass, herbs, sugar cane sap and more wax, before the light florals and some tart, nearly sour fruit take over: kiwi fruit, soursop, pineapple (ripe and sweet), green mangoes, lemon pickles.
Does it calm down and chill out when finally tasted? Not a chance. It’s every bit as elemental and rude as the nose promised it would be. Dry, waxy, slick with paraffin oil and kerosene (well – just a bit), more sharp sweetness but less olives, saved at the last by a warmer sense of biscuits and fresh pastries (think of pine tarts), croissants with butter, herbs and loads of citrus, like a good key lime pie with just a pinch of some sour sh*t thrown in. It’s a massive smorgasbord of everything but the kitchen sink, and merde, if you weren’t ready for this, you’d swear it was the kind of drink that would flatten all the beers in Munich if carelessly uncorked in the main square.
You know, recently, I tried a cheerfully addled 77% white from Below the Salt Distillery and what that one, the Foursquare LFT and this WP suggest, is that 54% might be just the right proof point for a product such as this. A higher strength would appeal only to hardcore high ester enthusiasts, and less would tame it to the point of imbecility. No, they got it just about right, I think.
So let me sum up, then: the WP High Ester is one of those rums which inspires the sort of incredulous prose that invites questions about whether I drank too much myself and self-lobotomized. Fair point, but come on: this is a pot still cane juice rum, it’s a high ester sarissa, it’s from Worthy effing Park – it cries out to be tried. It’s pungent and pugnacious to a fault, and if you’re a Jamaican rum fan, have tried a few hi-proofed agricoles and want to know what the fuss is about with funk or esters or cane juice … well, here you go.
(#1139)(86/100) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Other notes
- Video recap link
- Outturn is unknown