Wray & Nephew White Overproof

taste - 7/10
smell - 8/10
sweetness - 7/10
price/value rating - 8/10

I can’t believe this has so little aging to it. Lots of funky, banana-y aroma and flavor. A hint of liquid smoke aroma. I also taste something like those salty burnt pieces you find in a bag of sunflower seeds. When the rum hits front of your tongue, you get a creamy vanilla flavor. Overall a really nice rum with lots of character.

What to say. This is great in a Wray & Ting. It has a great funky banana flavor with a lot of HOGO, but it also has a somewhat off-putting gasoline note similar, but less palatable, to phenols in Islay Single Malt.

Pour a nice jigger of this on ice,
Top with a few ounces of Ting.

That’s a recipe for nice vibes.

Had a little sip neat. Mentale!!

However put in a daiquri with another rum as a base. Very nice daiquri. It’s definitely one for mixing and finishing off tiki cocktails.

This is by far my favorite overproof rum. It has loads of funk, it’s a beautiful images rum full of flavor.

Has great banana smell. Excellent for tiki drinks needing an Overproof rum. Good price.

Definitely not your usual rum with a heavy dose of funk. After reading article on how they make Jamaican rums I decided this was the right one to start with. As a homebrewer I am very familiar with the odd things that yeast and bacteria can do with beer so I was curious what it would do when concentrated by distilling. I love the results although it begs to be mixed with something in small doses. This one does not work on the rocks with some water (my opinion) like the Plantation O.F.T.D. but it's got it's uses in cocktails where you want them to be a little different. I can understand some of the low rankings because if you don't like the funk or were expecting a "traditional" rum taste then you will be disappointed, it is not that.

Fuckn mint. This epic overproof has a real identity as opposed to many other bland, flavour less white rums out there. My favourite mixer for summer drinks

This rum is legendary, literally. If you don't know the mythic status of this rum go read up on it. In fact, before you even try this at all go read up on it. I will wait.
...
And we're back...

OK So first things first: this is an overproof, clocking in at 63% ABV (126 proof), so treat it with respect. If you treat this like you would a 40% ABV rum its going to absolutely eat you alive and it will be no one's fault but your own. But even knowing that...grab your helmet, firemans axe, and plenty of water because this rum brings the heat. If you going to try to sip this, bring a bucket of water.

The nose is pleasantly pungent and it expresses two things loud and clear: caramelized bananas and alcohol. Its caramelized bananas that makes your nose tingle. This is a gentle reminder that only the strong survive. The strength of the nose of this rum is almost up there with Smith & Cross. It's not quite as complex as S&C, but this goes all in on caramelized bananas and it is quite nice if you waft it gently towards your nose like you learned in high school chemistry. The only problem is that due to the strength of this rum you can't camp your nose out in the glass for very long before burning your nostrils.

Taking a sip of this, even over an ice ball, is damn intense and not for the faint of heart. I mean, this is white hot Carribean fire. Even knowing it is an overproof, this packs a wallop. Take baby sips and stay alive though, because if you can make it through the blazing inferno there are some really nice tropical flavors waiting for you. Surviving the heat of the bonfire, on the palate I get light oak (that's a surprise), grilled pineapple, mango, lemon zest, and creamy key lime pie. The finish is a little disappointingly short but I get ripe mango, marsala wine, brine, and a faint aftertaste of apple pie that builds up with each sip you dare to take.

I was kind of hoping that after the intensity up front I would get to enjoy those delightful fruit notes a little more on the back end, but alas, no, you have to run the gauntlet each time to taste the forbidden fruits. That said the aftertaste slowly builds up with each sip and becomes quite nice after a while - especially when cut with water.

When sipped straight, which I can't recommend except for the most hardened of sailors, this rum is an inviting banana, pineapple, mango, key lime desert that eats you alive as you eat it. Delightful mutual destruction, lol.

That said, this makes for one hell of a mixing rum. I mean up there with the greatest mixing rums of all time.

Total: 6.5

Final note: anyone shooting this deserves what they get. But if you treat this rum with the respect it deserves its actually kind of nice. For $19 this is a superb quality rum.

*Tip* This makes a unbelievable Rum & Tonic, better than any Gin & Tonic I have ever had. That bumps this up to an 8 for me