The Lluidas Vale is a synonym for one of Jamaica’s most “Secrete” distilleries. In fact, it is such a secret, that no-one to this date figured out what these banana-like Rums with the acronym WP really are. Dear distilleries, just stop this nonsense, please. You are not doing anyone a favour, neither the rumlovers, nor yourself. Just saying. Thanks for the attention.
That said, how about a quick comparison? Three secret IBs versus three OBs. Let’s start with those mysterious Rums from the Lluidas Vale.

Rasta Morris Jamaica (Worthy Park) 2010 9YO (64,4%): Nose: Very tame and much closer to Appleton than to other Worthy Parks. After a while we get a continental fruit basket, much more wood than you’d expect, sweet coffee and fresh gasoline. Rather unusual I think. Palate: A bit sharp but not clearly a Worthy Park. Banana, gasoline, olive oil, milk chocolate and towards the finish plenty of herbs. It is quite tasty and definitely a very good Rum, even though it is kinda unremarkable. It is one of those Rums that just don’t do anything wrong without reaching the absolute ceiling. The maturity is spot on, by the way. Finish: Medium long with banana, herbs, lots of wood, some spices and oil. I’d say that this is a Rum where you don’t have to buy a bottle but you should definitely look forward to try it. (83/100)

Compagnie des Indes Jamaica (Worthy Park) 2007 13YO (53,6%): No image for this one. By the way, is it me or did Compagnie des Indes simply copy Stella Artois’ logo!? Nose: Sweet and fruity. The Rum comes with yellow stone fruits, persipan, oranges (not too citric), some oak and vanilla and deeper in the glass unripe pineapple. Quite lovely actually; not too intense, not overly complex and not as challenging as many other related Jamaicans. Palate: Non-sweet pineapple, fir cone oil and tree resin, oranges again and towards the end more bitter, even slightly astringent notes. This is very tasty, even though slightly more watery than we’d like, but that’s a very high level complaint. Finish: Quite long. Pineapple, oranges, oak and even some herbals notes would be my associations. This is as simply a tremendously good easy-sipping cask strength Jamaican. A very nice pick I think. (85/100)

Rum Artesanal WP Distillery (Worthy Park) 2007 15YO (59,1%): So did you wonder what WP stands for? Nose: Are we sure that this is Worthy Park? I mean, it smells like some cheap Amaro. Lots of herbs, bad licorice, grassy notes. Some sort of Whisky barrel perhaps? Now honey dew melon and a very, very odd note. Yeah, that cheap Amaro I think. Or some terrible Whisky. I really don’t know. This is no Worthy Park, that’s for sure (WP distillery, eh!?). Palate: A slightly different animal but it continues along the line of the nose. Sage has to be the by far most dominant note here but we also get different herbs such as mint (plenty), rosary (a lot) and oregano (clearly). Then cough syrup for children, licorice, some oak, pepper, more Amaro and even more sage. But once again, no Worthy Park. Finish: Long with sage, mint, more sage and other herbs. Throw in some Szechuan pepper perhaps. A highly interesting Rum but it is absolutely not to my liking. Nevertheless, I want to know what this is, i.e. what barrel this aged in. (72/100)

On with Worthy Park.

Worthy Park 109 (54,5%): A very young, heavily coloured Rum that wants to conquer the bars of this world. I remember tasting a pre-release sample about five years ago and thought that this would be pretty cool. I have no idea how different the final version is though. Nose: Clearly Worthy Park. The profile can be described as a mix of banana, milk chocolate, toffee, Rum-soaked raisins, gasoline, sugar and a hint of coffee. Yes, I can imagine that this is going to work well in certain drinks. Palate: And I think drinks are where this belongs. The profile just hasn’t been made for neat drinking if you ask me. Chocolate and banana dominate the profile and the backing of the barrel is clearly missing. That said, it is crazy how the dark colour makes you want to believe that this is older than it is. Toffee, sugar, almonds and caramel are other associations. Finish: Not very long and basically identical to the palate. I think Rums like these do have a raison d’être, but it clearly isn’t for neat enjoyment. (73/100)

Worthy Park Special Barrel Series “WPE” 2017 3YO (57%): WPE is Worthy Park’s highest ester marque. Nose: Uhh, this smells… young. And juvenile. Playful and frisky might already be euphemisms. It has this Jamaican fruit schnaps character that I do not know from tropically aged expressions but yeah, it is high ester stuff. That said, there really isn’t much more to be found here than a mixed fruit basket and even the characteristic banana is just a nuance. I hope the palate has more to offer, even though I really doubt it. Palate: No, it is the same old story, even though I’d describe it in a different way. Whipped cream, banana ice cream and a mixed fruit salad. Yup, that sums it up perfectly I’d say and I am happy to announce that the palate is much better than the nose, even though it is still lacking in many regards. Finish: Merely an extension of the palate, that lasts for quite a while. Three years just do not do the trick in this particular instance. (76/100)

Worthy Park “WPL” ‘Romhatten Cask Selection #3’ 2013 8YO (62%): This time we do have an image, but it is not a good one. Anyway, it is an official single cask bottling for/ chosen by Romhatten, if I understand correctly. Nose: Yeah, this is the good Worthy Park again. I get some glue, lots of banana in different processings, milk chocolate, a mix of herbs, fresh sugar and lemon. A rather good nose. Palate: Ripe banana dipped in sugar and honey that is subsequently sprinkled with chocolate chips. For desert, let’s have some tabouleh. That’s kinda the wrong order when it comes to food but here it makes sense. With the second or third sip I also get quality olive oil. Nice! Finish: Medium long with banana (of course), sugar (right) and herbs (yeah…). A really cool selection that is just fun to drink. (85/100)

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