Vagabond Spirits New Yarmouth Silva Collection 2005

New Yarmouth is the emerging high-ester darling among independent bottlers, a Clarendon-parish distillery whose pot still stock has become a magnet for funk hunters. This single cask from the 2005 vintage, released in Vagabond Spirits' Silva Collection, shows that profile in a softer, creamier guise than the famously feral 1994 and 1995 bottlings.

Matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled unsweetened at 55.8% after 19 years of tropical ageing, it keeps the funk and fruit while adding comfort. The nose runs overripe pineapple and tropical fruit edged with ester, the palate turns creamy with pastry and stone fruit, and the finish brings honey, salt and a maple-syrup sweetness. The reduced strength tames the citrus bite and lets the texture take over, making this a genuinely drinkable high-ester rum, funk with the rough edges rounded off rather than a wild solvent bomb.