Hamilton Navy Strength

Rum tasting in New York City continued with Hamilton 114 Navy Strength Rum. Old school bottle and label design. Light golden color. No added sugars at all. Typical Jamaican funk and glue straight to your nose and palate when neat sipped. Might be rotten banana peels, or rotten pineapple, or might be a weird copper still method, but trust me, the nose test is simply nasty. Dry burn and more funk and more glue at the end.

More of that Jamaican funk but with some bite behind it.

Overproof goodness. The alcohol burn is mild. You can drink it neat and feel the raw or cube or water it and the burn becomes a wisper. Airing let’s the banana and pineapple peep out. Piratejabez say it all in his review. The sugar and vanilla linger well.

57% ABV—that's "full proof," as the name indicates. Lively, prickly nose. Young Jamaican funk really excited to get out of the bottle and into your senses. Benefits from time to breathe in the glass. Hint of banana and pineapple. Grounded by the rich, caramelly demerara. In the palate, full, with the same fruits, plus treacle, and an array of herbaceous notes. Anise? More pineapple. Slightly oily mouthfeel. Finish has some bitterness, with a hint of cherry, and is reasonably long. Good at bottle strength, but a few drops of water doesn't hurt.

Delicious neat, it begs to be deployed in a Navy Grog or other drinks. It's not the most refined navy rum I've ever had, but it's a good introduction to the style at a great price. If you like navy-style rums like Pusser's, don't pass this one up. It's a great deal.

7+, 8-

Not quite what I was hoping for. A bit of uncontrolled funk with a fair bit of hotness - quite a significant bite. I find that, at a similar price, Pusser's Gunpowder Proof outperforms it by a lot.

It tastes subtle and is deceptively strong... at 57%, it ought to be. But you're not getting knocked back by spirit fumes or alcohol burns on your palate, these big guns have finesse and character, well enough to stand on its own or in a cocktail. A little dangerous if drinking neat, only because it's easy to sip and will sneak up on you quickly and breach your beachhead if you're not watching your battlespace. Then again, in a cocktail, or weakened with an ice cube, you're in for some smooth sailing.