Long Pond RA Rum 2000

Long Pond is Trelawny's historic Wedderburn house, and this 22 year old from the much-loved 2000 vintage was bottled by Germany's Rum Artesanal, a name in the unsweetened full-proof tradition with deep roots in Jamaican stock. At more than two decades of tropical ageing it shows a drier, woodier face of the distillery while keeping enough fruit to stay lively.

Distilled on the double-retort pot still from molasses and matured in ex-bourbon casks, it is bottled unsweetened at cask strength, 55.8%. The nose carries tropical fruit, ester, pineapple and glue, the palate turns creamy with tropical fruit and ester over wood, and the finish runs pineapple, light bitterness and tannins with a young-wood edge. The funk here is balanced rather than loud, the esters present but restrained, making this an accessible cask strength Long Pond. A drier, fun, fruit-led pour for drinkers easing further into Jamaican character.