Rum Regions: Jamaica
When it comes to iconic rum, Jamaica has several seats at the head table. Often referred to as hogo or funk, their unique aromas and flavors are instantly recognizable. Tasting notes for Jamaican rum highlight rotting banana, overripe fruit, and petrol.
Wait - why would anyone drink this?
In reality, Jamaican rum is polarizing. But for those who are “down with the funk,” it’s rum nirvana; very few other rums come close.
Jamaican rum’s aromas and flavors primarily derive from elevated levels of organic compounds created during fermentation, particularly esters and higher alcohols, aka fusel oils. Wild yeast and long fermentations supercharge the creation of these flavor compounds. Part 1 of this series covers fermentation.
Unaged, high-strength rum is quite popular on the island, but most exported Jamaican rum is aged. This rounds off the harsher fusel oils and balances the flavor with wood-derived notes like vanilla and tannins. However, not all Jamaican rums are funk bombs, and some of these more restrained rums are particularly beloved.
Early History
Rum production started in Jamaica as early as the 1670s. Several decades later, Jamaica was Britain’s largest rum-making colony until British Guiana took the crown in the mid-1800s. In the 1700s, Jamaican rum commanded the highest prices, roughly equal to French brandies and Batavia Arrack.
Wealthy UK merchants owned numerous Jamaican estates. Among them were John Wedderburn and Thomas Plummer, both of who invested in the West India Docks. The particular Jamaican rums were distinctive enough to spawn the Wedderburn rum and Plummer rum styles.
Jamaican rum was also popular in Germany. In the late 1800s, Germany began highly taxing imported spirits, including Jamaican rum. To circumvent these taxes, German blenders started purchasing the most flavorful Jamaican rums available to dilute with neutral spirits. A small amount of Jamaican rum could be stretched quite a bit this way. This faux Jamaican rum was called Rum Verschnitt and is still made today.
Seeing the demand for highly flavored rums, some Jamaican distilleries started specializing in making rums with high levels of esters. Such rums were intended solely for blending, not direct consumption. These rums were called continental rum, as they were destined for European markets like Germany. Today we colloquially call them high ester rums. While most are used in blends, a few examples of pure high ester rums, such as Hampden DOK and Long Pond TECC, are available.
Jamaican Rum Today
Today, the Jamaican rum industry consists of two large companies and two smaller independent distilleries. In total, six distilleries make rum.
The most well-known Jamaican producer is J. Wray & Nephew, owned by Campari. It operates two distilleries: Appleton Estate and New Yarmouth. Appleton dates to 1749 and is known worldwide for its eponymous rum. Far less is known about New Yarmouth; it receives very little publicity, and very few visitors have been allowed in.
The other large Jamaican rum producer is National Rums of Jamaica, which operates the Long Pond and Clarendon distilleries. The company is a three-way partnership between the Jamaican government, Demerara Distillers Ltd., and the West Indies Rum Distillery. In addition to their Monymusk brand, National Rums of Jamaica also sells a significant amount of bulk rum.
Hampden Estate is locally owned and started making rum around 1753. It’s well known for its pot distilled high ester rums. Until 2009 Hampden only sold unaged rum in bulk, but it now ages and sells rums under its own brand.
Worthy Park Estate is the other locally-owned distillery. While the estate dates to 1670, the current distillery was built in 2005. Its single pot still makes a particularly recognizable Jamaican rum found in many blends as well as the estate’s own brand. Worthy Park also operates a sugar mill, which supplies the distillery with molasses.
There’s so much more to Jamaican rum’s past and present than we have space to cover here. Hopefully, this brief look has inspired you to learn more about this iconic style of rum.