Long Pond & Clarendon Plantation XAYMACA Special Dry

Xaymaca Special Dry is Maison Ferrand's nod to traditional Jamaican rum, a pot still blend of Long Pond and Clarendon distillate aged a couple of years and bottled, unusually for this house, with no added sweetness at 43%. Long Pond is a historic Wedderburn style house and Clarendon a workhorse supplier of characterful pot still rum, and the two together give an honest taste of Jamaica without chasing the heaviest marques.

Pot still distillation and long fermentation are what create Jamaica's ester driven funk, the fruity, solvent edged aroma traders called hogo. Here it reads as ripe banana, pineapple and tropical fruit lifted by a touch of glue and solvent ester on the nose, then turns dry, woody and faintly smoky across the palate with honey on the finish. The dryness can feel out of balance to newcomers expecting sweetness, which is exactly why many reach for it as a mixer, though it makes a bright, gently funky sipper for the curious.