Background
New Yarmouth is perhaps the most enigmatic of the Jamaican distilleries, a trait which makes it even more appealing to nerds like me. There are no official bottlings of NYE (the E is Estate) at the moment, and there are only a handful of vintages available via independent bottlers: 1994 (column, low ester), 2005 (pot, mid to high ester), and 2009 (mid to high ester). The marques of each vintage are not known. Today’s bottle, of the 2009 vintage, was released by Compagnie Des Indes in 2022 as a Denmark exclusive. It was aged for twelve years in a continental climate and bottled at a cask strength of 59.5%.
Tasting
What a nose! I get ripe banana, Granny Smith apple, lime peel, mint, root beer, glue, seawater, vanilla, campfire, and some pineapple juice that’s starting to turn. Funky, fruity, and delightfully weird.
On the palate, it becomes evident just how light the wood is. Twelve years of continental aging have imparted only a tiny bit of oak influence. I get more banana, more Granny Smith apple, and more seawater, but now there’s buttered popcorn, and the campfire has turned into burnt marshmallow—a natural evolution, I suppose. The root beer note from the nose returns, but it has some lemon-lime soda mixed in. Water does this no favors, sadly; all the flavors are subdued and nothing interesting comes out. It’s so manageable at proof, however, so I don’t consider this a major flaw.
Verdict
This is an excellent rum – honestly, I’m surprised that there isn’t more buzz about it. The closest thing I can compare it to is continentally aged C<>H. Though Hamden’s extraordinary ester bomb may exceed this New Yarmouth in intensity and complexity, the NYE is surprisingly close. Hoping to see more like this from New Yarmouth in the future. (8/10)