Bristol Worthy Park Reserve Rum of 2007

Worthy Park is the single-estate St. Catherine distillery prized for clean, precise, 100% pot still rum that draws its esters from fermentation alone, without dunder or muck, so its funk runs moderate rather than wild. This 2007 was selected by Bristol Classic Rum, the long-running English closed-distillery and single-cask specialist, and aged eight years before bottling at a gentle 43%.

The aroma is tropical and mineral with mango and sandalwood, the palate brings dried fruit, a caramelised sweetness and a touch of solvent, and the finish stays light and crisp with dried apricot. Some of the ageing took place in the cooler British climate, which keeps the wood gentle and the spirit restrained for its age. The reduction to 43% makes it soft and approachable, very much the polished Worthy Park signature, a clean introduction to Jamaican pot still for those who find the high-ester monsters too aggressive, even if it gives away some intensity in the process.