Smith and Cross Traditional Jamaica Navy Strength

I can imagine Ahab's crew bolstering their courage with this at the approach of the great, white beast they pursue. Naval strength means if your knees are knocking while readying your harpoon, spilling your rum on the power charge, no worries - hit the cannon with the punk...she'll fire right up.

Not 'smooth'. A chain-mailed fist to the snout. Spice, orange, dark tea, molasses sugar but not burnt, the maximum security lifer whom you just got bunked with (goodbye virginity!), Pusser's on steriods....damn, this is good stuff! Add all the water you need, you can't dilute the stuff. Banana, cedar, tannins, and dried dark fruit bum-rush the palate. Toffee, pepper and a bit of salt - yeah...toffee - on the finish.

The people behind this deserve a standing ovation for daring to resurrect and bottle it, and are magicians for doing it at this price. Rum's riposte to cask strength Islay Scotch. Almost like no other rum you'll encounter.

A pure pot still distillate that stands on its own. One of the most tasteful rums you can come across and together with the ABV of 57% it will get your attention! Nosing this will give you a hint of what to expect; rotten bananas, napalm orange and about every other fruit in various stages of decay are present. Doesn't sound good, but it sure smells good!

Describing the flavours on the palate is a bit tricky as it is so packed with different aromas it is hard to get them all; when you focus on one specific part of the taste six others come rushing by in an instant. So I won't even try and just say it is very present, very fruity and very bold. Don't let the navy strenght fool you; this is not a navy style rum, it is just bottled at a gunpowder proof ABV.

Don't be a fool and start with this as your first rum as it might scare you off forever but once you are a bit used to dry and high-ester rums you simply must try this fellow. Don't be afraid for it as in the end it is a rather mellow spirit, despite the 57% and the strong and bold flavours.

An extra mark for Smith & Cross because they have the guts to put this remarkable rum in this form and at this price on the market!

As only my second Jamaican rum, S&C blew me away with its unstoppable ester funk and high proof burn. I foolishly sipped some straight out of the just-opened bottle and blew out my taste buds. Then I made a Mai Tai without splitting it with another rum—mistake number two. So why such a high rating? Because when properly yielded, it is masterful in cocktails. Whether blended with a lighter rum, stirred with ginger beer, or balanced with citrus, it’s a superb mixer that manages to both showcase its own unique character and also elevate its fellow ingredients. I will always keep a bottle to represent some of the best in the Jamaican style.

I was very hesitant to try this authentic Jamaican rum for a long time because of some of the frightening descriptions in these reviews. This is NOT a rum for beginners and I am certainly not a beginner. So I plunked down $27 US for my bottle of this and brought it home today. It is blended in the UK, which has long ties to Jamaica. You can read the whole story on the back of the bottle.

When I broke the plastic seal around the cork, I was afraid to open it for fear of some awful smells. Instead, it was anything but that. My first pour was neat in the snifter. Aromas of exotic tropical fruits greeted me. On the palate was mild hogo and lots of burn. Hey, it's only 114 proof, so what can you expect? Adding a few ice cubes swapped out the burn for lots of pleasant hogo flavors. This is the way to drink it, on the rocks. Then I tried one of the drinks on the back of the label called Million. A million of what? Stupid name, but I tried it with measurements given to the nearest quarter of an ounce for this rum, lemon juice, simple syrup, and Angostura Bitters. Gosh, that is a damn good drink, but I would rather savor mine on the rocks and stick with no added sugars. Whomever said that dry rums are boring has obviously not tried this one. This one can also put any Mai Tai over the top!

Well, now this is a rum like no other I have encountered so far.

It's smells heavy and it taste even more heavy. Expecting a rum, the taste and experience is weird, at first.
But give it some time. It's starts to grow on you, like a fungus. You know you should stop it, but you don't. Will it turn out to be a heavy fungus, or a filthy mold? It's certainly a dirty drink...

Let the fungus grow on you.

Edit: Damn thing realy grew on me. Just editted my review and upped it 1 whole point. This is one dirty drink, I tell you that!

If you know what you want and that thing is funk than it's hard to get funkier than Smith and Cross.

Like Laphroaig it's easily one of my favorites for its unabashed pungency. Shocking to the uninitiated and haunting to those who have sipped it straight.

Maybe not a 10 in the overall scheme of Rum balance and flavor but deserving of a 10 for what it does better than most and thats the dunder funk.

The blast from the nose lets you know quick that isn't anything that is a standard rum. The collection of flavors such as pepper, tobacco, sugar cane and dark chocolate make this rum something to enjoy in excellent cocktails or on its own.

This can definitely be sipped, but I find it makes an excellent cocktail, holds up to any juice or syrups, and still holds its character and "funk."

Was not expecting this aroma and flavor. The nose reminded me a lot of the very funky and fun Clairin Le Rocher Haitian agricole rum, because there is a lot going on in the nose, and on the tongue. And most of it is nearly un-explainable. There is definitely some leather and tobacco in the nose,and a weird funk I can only describe as kind of rubbery chemical thing. That weird smell is not overly strong but its there. The rum is not nearly as strong on the mouth and finish as the 57% indicates, and it allows the spices and fruits to come through, but mixed with the nose, its hard to really pinpoint much of the specific flavors. It packs a punch, its funky, its fun and I enjoyed it greatly. Now I just have to filter through it all and find out what those flavors are.

Like a punch in the face. Cannot drink this sucker straight, but I keep trying.