>Monymusk (also called Clarendon) distillery is an active rum distillery built in 1949 in Lionel Town in the south of Jamaica. The distillery produces circa 12 million litres of pure alcohol per year of which 9 million litres are made with its column still and 3 million litres with its pot stills. The production facility is composed of two buildings. The oldest one holds two double-retort pot stills of 20,000 litres (5,300 gallons) and 25,000 litres (6,600 gallons) connected to their respective fermentation oak tanks and producing a spirit of about 85% ABV. The most recent facility built in 2009 accommodates a triple column still producing a spirit lighter in aromatic compounds up to 96% ABV.

Small batch and single cask bottlings bottled by Rest & Be Thankful are always free of additives and colourings and are un-chill filtered to deliver the identity of the matured spirit. Their small batches are ephemeral releases made from a marriage of hand selected casks to provide a complex and profound spirit where the sum is infinitely better than the parts, a bit like an assemblage in the wine world.

Brimming with character, this limited-edition MDR rum has been lovingly nurtured in the embrace of two American Oak Hogshead casks, formerly cradling Bruichladdich Single Malt. With just 719 bottles in existence, this bottling is a true testament to the craft of the Monymusk Distillery combined with the ingenuity of aging in different (but familiar) casks.

Profile:  Waxy, oily wood.

Nose:  Herbaceous, Sultanas, Linseed and waxy. Pencil shavings, orange peel & Panettone cake. A fizz, is it bicarbonate of soda. Lots of rubber notes and even freshly made plastic. After the first sip, Latex gloves, perforated cling film sprayed with olive oil. Moving into Tropical wooden notes, pineapple juice, dried pineapple, and spices. The nose finishes with a classic Bruichladdich barley nose reminding one of the 12-year-old Bruichladdich single cask that accompanied this release.

Palate:  Rum… Jamaican rum funk! Satisfying entry on the palate, looking for sweetness but finding a little sawdust and dusty pencil shavings before the 57.2% kicks in with a long spicy finish.

Finish:  Spices, soaked boozy fruits that initially warms but then peaks and continues to carry on long after the palate. A rum where each sips lasts. Well matured with a very successful finishing cask.