Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Gold

This is pot still gold rum from the world-famous Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica. The aroma fills the room with spice and dunder and almost off-putting levels of funk...but once you taste this magnificent product, all is right with the world.

In the glass it is pale gold, quite pretty to behold. Nosing it fills the senses with overripe fruit, spices and oak. The flavor is positively sublime and yet mind-stranglingly complex. I love this rum straight up.

This is a blend of high and middle ester youngish aged, exclusively pot still rum distilled from molasses coming from the famous Worthy Park Estate in St. Catherine Jamaica. This blend was created by Ed Hamilton and is now thankfully pretty easily obtainable in much of the US. Ed Hamilton is known as one of the living Godfather figures of the rum world, and to my tastes, he really knows how to pick out a good rum. His rums are also free of sugar and non-coloring additives and in the case of this rum, free of any additives whatsoever.

The nose on this rum is the most Worthy Park of any Worthy Park rum I have ever had. This rum somehow out-bananas even Rum Bar Overproof. (How is that even possible?) But seriously this shit is Bananas: B-A-N-A-N-A-S. So yeah the tidal wave that overwhelms all of your senses is Bananas. After that is more Bananas. After a sensory saturation of Bananas I detect faint Chlorine, and then Orange Marmalade and Pear Brandy. Beneath that is fresh cut Sugar Cane stalk and Lemon Sour Candies. Faintly in the background I get…more Bananas, form of: Banana Yogurt.

I will let you guess what I get first on the palate. If you guessed Guava you would be wrong. It’s Bananas. I swear Worthy Park pranked Ed Hamilton here and just distilled a bunch of fermented Bananas. After searching under the 18 metric tons of Banana, I taste Lemon Gum Drops, a thimble of Pear Brandy, and just the slightest nibble of fresh Sugar Cane stalk.

After the rum leaves the mouth I am not so subtly reminded of…more Bananas. With a light interlude of Butterscotch hard candies, before back to more Bananas.

Wow! This is the Worthiest Park of all Worthy Parks. I am beginning to suspect that instead of going himself, Ed sent his trusty monkey assistant to pick out the “best” distillate. Said banana distillate was then contracted. But seriously, this rum is Funky with a capital “F” in the form of Bananas. And it is pretty glorious if, like me, you love Bananas.

Short Description: The ultimate Worthy Park expression. This shit is Bananas - BANANAS.

ABV 46.5%

Country of Origin: Jamaica

Distillery: Worthy Park Estate

Nose: BANANAS, faint Chlorine, Orange Marmalade, Pear Brandy, Sugar Cane stalk, Lemon Sour Candies, Banana Yogurt

Palate: Bananas, Lemon Gum Drops, Pear Brandy, faint Sugar Cane stalk

Finish: Bananas, faint Butterscotch hard candies

So pale, yet packed with flavor. The nose is pure hogo, with rotten fruit and fruity earthy tones. On the palate quite smooth and bursting with fruity funk and almost an oaky peatiness. Beachbum says this is what rums used to taste like. I love time traveling in the glass!

It has taken me years to learn to love this rum and its ability to bring instant richness to any drink. I will add this to other rums straight up for a little kick. Same review for this and the black because they are the same.

This is a pale gold rum with a small amount of time in wood. It has bold, boozy, over-ripe pot still character but not to much wood character. Even 1/2 ounce will slap your favorite rum drink in the face and demand it try harder to please. Great in a Mai tai, navy grog, or sidewinders fang. Also good with coke or tonic and lime on ice.

I like the pot still flavors left in the rum. Great aroma even mixed with coke.

Lightest gold rum I've had! What it lacks in color it makes up for in smell and taste. Sweet banana bread stands out on the nose. Sweetness followed by some heat that moves into a pepper spice that ends with a molasses note.

Almost smells like a caçacha but definitely has a much smoother flavor profile. Very light, pale gold color with hints of oak, spice, and fruitiness. Smooth finish with similar notes. Very nice supper and one I’ll consider keeping in the future.

A light gold color, lighter than I was expecting for a "gold" rum. Nose is strong of bananas with a little bit of varnish (not in a bad way). Smooth and relatively light on the palate. Not super funky for a Jamaican pot sill rum. I think it would do great in cocktails.

Quite funky on the nose (rotten fruit and vegetable), taste is totally different. Light-medium body, with some nice, light fruitiness, some bitterness (in a good way), a hint of smoke, semi-dry, mild molasses on the finish, with nothing off-putting. Available in a 375ml if you'd like to give it a try. Although the nose funk might be off-putting to a new comer to Jamaican rum, the taste should be more than tolerable. I gather this is the same as the Black, with more caramel coloring added, and while very similar, I detect something more phenolic in the Black version. I prefer the gold, but the black is good too.