Privateer Navy Yard

Privateer distils in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and the Navy Yard line gathers their molasses rum at higher proof, here a single cask filled to 54.6%. The naval reference is to strength rather than blending, and the result sits closer to a young American whiskey than a tropical sipper, a point its drinkers tend to notice in the glass.

The spirit is column and pot distilled from molasses and rested in ex-bourbon oak, which shapes almost everything that follows. The nose runs woody and sweet with meringue, caramel and a coconut edge, while the palate turns spicier and distinctly bourbon like, dry oak and tannin closing things out. Strength is plainly felt, so a few drops of water help it open, and the overall character reads more cask than cane.