Smith and Cross Traditional Jamaica Navy Strength

One kickass bottle of rum that will knock you down if you don't keep your guard up. The amount of alcohol in this drink makes it a though rum to sip neat. First the alcohol burn will hit you, a prickly sensation. Once you get past that there is a wonderful flavor to be found with a lots of overripe fruits notes.
For the more casual drinkers, still an awesome bottle of rum. Try it in cocktails or with a big chunk of ice where it will still pack a punch.

I used to drink a lot of Wray and Tings until I found this Rum. Tons of Funk of the overripe fruit variety, but with just enough bite to keep things interesting, even in a two ingredient cocktail.

Great explosion of flavors, definitely not for everyone but for those the will like to appreciate an unaltered Jamaican funk.

Strong tropical fruits aroma. A Little bit of this rum goes a long way spicing up my favorite rum cocktails like mai tai.

If you like Jamaican Funk, this is one of my favorite bottles! Delicious. Round sweet notes. Plenty of Haut Gaut in the back of your nose & throat. Some heat on your younger to remind you that it’s there. This is one of my top 5.

Honestly, this is amazingly smooth for its proof. That said, it has the burnt bandaid quality of a strong mezcal. Drinkable, but can’t sit among my favorite rums when it comes to flavor. This will come out at parties, when it’s time to take things to the next level...

I might be exaggerating a bit, but I think this is the best not-super-expensive rum that I have ever bought so far. It rivals Pusser's in that. But style is very different, so need for rivalry, both have a special place in my heart.

Smith & Cross comes in a no-nonsense bottle with a no-nonsense label. I like that. I like the total lack of marketing blabla. Very classy.

And, more important, the rum smells every bit what rum should smell like. Sweet, funky, slightly smokey, very intense. And it has that aroma of mulled wine, which I like so much. And which, I believe, is what is "typical rum" for most Germans. For, you see, the German tradition of rum is that of Rumverschnitt, meaning neutral alcohol (think "vodka") mixed with small ammounts of very potent Jamaican funky rum. If done right, the result is quite interesting and goes extremely well with grog and the like.

Now, this is not as potent as the stuff that would be used for traditional Verschnitt, but it is close. And it is pure, so it is much more intense. In short, this is an amplified and high-quality experience of German style rum. And, strictly speaking, it is of course not a German rum at all. But you get what I mean, I assume.

Lots of funk, molasses, some sweetness, mulled wine, spices. The 57% ABV are barely noticeable on the nose, in the mouth there is a slight alcoholic sting. I would add some water if I had this neat.

Excellent for using in grog or tea. A few drops in your tea will be enough to give it a very noticeable funky rum note. Great as a sipper, with some water (no ice for me with this one). Also great with fruit juices. For mxing with ginger ale or ginger beer it is OK, but I prefer something with more earthy funk.
Smith & Cross is an astroundingly light rum for being so funky. What I mean is that the funk notes are very much in the realm of spices, christmas cake, fruits. Not so much mud, leather, rot etc.
I like all kinds of funk in rum really, but this is extremely nice for being such a "clean" funk experience.

Plus it is very good for making your own Rumverschnitt, if you are curious. About 10% Smith % Cross with 90% vodka or other neutral spirit sounds about right.
And if you are less adventurous, Smith & Cross is very useful for adding some taste to bland rums. I have not yet come across a rum (other than Bacardi) that could not be improved to something more or less palatable by adding 5-20% Smith & Cross.

Not my favorite. I am sorry to all the fans who highly recommend this. I plan to revisit this review (if I can...)

An example of the typical funky Wedderburn style. Only lightly aged, but very aromatic nonetheless. The colour is fake, but forget about it, it's the aroma and flavour that matter. And these are really nice in this case, almost perfect. What stands out against similar rums of this style is the navy strength of this Smith & cross. You can drown it in cola and it's still very funky and aromatic.

A strong fruity smell, oily, alcoholic, sweet. The taste is dark and heavy, light fruity and sweet, some wood.
A nice strong one.