Overview
Brand: Worthy Park, Special Cask series
Origin: Worthy Park, Lluidas Vale, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica
Still: Pot
Age: 10 years
Finish: ex-Bourbon & ex-Port
ABV: 45%
Following on from the Madeira cask expression, we're now going to dive into another specially-matured Worthy Park rum. This time, the cask held a different fortified wine before being put to use the by Jamaican estate.
Worthy Park Special Cask Series Port is another molasses-based, pot still rum that was produced in 2010. It spent 8 years in ex-Bourbon casks before being transferred to casks formerly holding ruby port, in which it aged an additional 2 years. It was then blended and bottled at 45% ABV.
Appearance
Dark amber, low viscosity
Nose
Candied strawberries, Red Vine licorice, cranberry tart, cooked banana
Palate
Overripe banana peel, cooked strawberries, cranberry tart, hint of grilled pineapple
Finish
Medium-long, funky, fruity; cranberries, strawberry tarts, sour red grapes, overripe banana
Rating: 7/10
Summary
This is another fun exploration into specially-aged Worthy Park rum. The port cask does take over, similar to the Madeira cask, but this one allows a little more of the underlying fruit notes of the rum to shine through.
There are a lot of red fruits, on the more bitter and tart end of the spectrum, when sipping through this: cranberry tart, candied strawberries, sour grapes, and Red Vine licorice (definitely a fruit). Worthy Park's prolific banana note comes through as cooked on the nose, and then overripe during the palate and finish, while grilled pineapple only taps in for a moment on the back palate.
This port cask definitely demands your attention, but doesn't take away that what a tasty dram this is. I think between the two Special Cask Series I've reviewed, I lean slightly towards the Madeira over this one. Still, a fun pour of rum.