Overview
Brand: Papalin
Origin: Hampden Estate, Wakefield, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica; Long Pond Distillers Ltd., Clark's Town, Trelawny, Jamaica; Worthy Park, Lluidas Vale, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica
Still: Pot
Age: 5 years
Finish: ex-Bourbon
ABV: 57%
What more could a rum-lover ask for, than a blend of some of the funkiest rums out there? That is the premise of the newest Papalin release to hit American shelves.
Papalin Jamaica High Ester brings three distilleries' rum together, to highlight the individual producers and their proprietary marques, as well as the overall quality of rum produced by the island country. This blend specifically features components with higher ester counts. Here are the constituent rums, broken down by distillery:
| Distillery | Marque | Ester Range (g/hLAA) |
|---|---|---|
| Worthy Park | WPL | 60-119 |
| Long Pond | STC<3E | 550-700 |
| Hampden Estate | C<>H | 1,300-1,400 |
While WPL is Worthy Park's lowest ester marque, it may have been included in order to provide a solid base for blending with the other rums. STC<3E and C<>H are two fan-favorite marques from their respective distilleries, and two of my favorites as well.
All components were the product of pot distillation of a molasses-base; fermentation will also vary based on the marque and distillery process, but notably dunder, muck, and cane vinegar are also present. After distillation, the rums were aged at least 5 years before being selected by the team at La Maison & Velier to use in this release, which consists of 63 different single casks across the three marques. Once blended, the rum was bottled at 57% ABV.
Since today is National Mai Tai Day, I thought it would be the perfect occasion to review what could be a game-changing rum to use in the classic tiki cocktail. Let's dive in.
Appearance
Orange-gold, low viscosity
Nose
Rotting banana, grilled pineapple, passionfruit, overripe starfruit, cooked blackberries, spiced pear
Palate
Grilled pineapple, rotting banana, orange marmalade, passionfruit, starfruit, vanilla, hint of cinnamon
Finish
Long, fruity, funky; vanilla, cinnamon, spiced pear, underripe blueberries, rotting pineapple
Rating: 9/10
Summary
For lovers of Jamaican funk, you cannot go wrong with this bottle. Papalin Jamaica High Ester artfully blends its components in a way that allows each to shine in different ways, highlighting the craft of the respective producers.
There is so much going on, it's a bit hard to pin down exact, coherent notes. Aromatically, it's just fruits of all sorts: banana, pineapple, passionfruit, blackberries, pears; rotting, grilled, cooked, and spiced. Sipping the rum gives you the full experience, with more fruit notes, including the tangy elements from C<>H, and the more dark fruit, almost "meaty" and heavier funk from STC<3E. This is very drinkable, with the finish easing out with some spices to round out the experience.
I love the Papalin series for what it does, even though I find myself usually enjoying single cask expressions more, compared to blends. And what a blend this is, considering how difficult it must have been to get these funky marques to work together. Great release, and certainly one to try in your festive Mai Tai today!