Today we have a shorter review than usual, a quickie if you want. The rum is still available but seems to be sold exclusively in Denmark. It is the MacY Jamaica 1992 14YO at 45%.

The Bottling

Ah, a Jamaican rum from 1992, that has to be another of those lovely Hampdens that have been distilled in that year. At least that’s what I was thinking when I first encountered this bottling. Since MacY did not put the distillery’s name on the label, only a tasting can can enlighten us, however.
Founded in 1996, MacY is a Danish importer and distributer of spirits and this rum has been bottled for the company’s 15th anniversary. Its a split single cask bottling, which in this case means that a portion of it has been bottled at cask strength while the rest has been diluted to a drinking strength of 45%.
But wait a minute. Being a 14YO rum from 1992, it has been bottled in 2006 but the rum only went on sale in 2011. What was the reason for this? Why would MacY not just keep it in the cask for some extra years of ageing? As we are about to see, the rum could well have used them.

Dégustation “MacY Jamaica 1992 14YO”

Key Facts: This single cask rum has been distilled on Jamaica in 1992. After 14 years of ageing, it has been bottled in Denmark and went on sale another five years later. My sample comes from one of 251 bottles that have been filled at 45%. The rest of the cask yielded another 197 bottles which have been sold at 63% cask strength.

Colour and viscosity: Pale gold. After a quick pivot, thin streaks quickly flow down the wall of the glass. The cask probably was not very active.

Nose: What is this? Even at 45%, the first thing I encounter is alcohol. For quite some time there isn’t much else. Eventually, I smell peaches in the background, together with sweet almonds. The nose is really faint and it is difficult to discern any aromas.

Palate: Finally some flavours. We get way more than the nose suggested. Compared with the nose, the alcohol is not very pungent in the mouth. The rum is very sweet. It features mostly fruits such as sweet pears and sour apples. A funny combination. I can also clearly taste the flavour of freshly squeezed sugar cane and lime juice. If you keep the rum in the mouth for a while, you will be surprised by white, lemon flavoured chocolate. There is also a slight amount of spiciness with a hint of oak and vanilla coming from the cask.

Finish: Citrus and pears, combined with a small amount of oak. The finish is unexpectedly long.

Verdict

The fact that this rum has now been available for more than five years speaks for itself. It does a good job at presenting what it has to offer but sadly it is just not offering enough. It is simply too plain and featureless. Nosing is an integral part of the experience of tasting a rum and here the nose is pretty much nonexistent. Perhaps even worse, it fell way short of my expectations. I can say for sure that this is not a Hampden but it doesn’t really fit the profile of any other Jamaican distillery I know either. For a while I was wondering whether this might be coming from New Yarmouth or Inswood but that seemed highly unlikely. Eventually, Flo from Barrel Aged Thoughts told me that this is a Long Pond, which is evident when comparing it with the Alambic Classique Long Pond 1992 18YO. If you, like me, only know other Long Pond vintages there is no way that you would have come to that conclusion. Blindly, I probably would have put this to Grenada or Barbados, but surely not to Jamaica.

(72/100)