Papalin Jamaica 7-Year

This rum is a blend of two separately distilled and aged rums, one from Worthy Parky Estate in St. Catherine, Jamaica and the other from Hampden Estate in Trelawny, Jamaica - each a legendary distillery. Each rum is high ester pot still rum tropically aged on site at the respective distillery for at least 7 years and then blended together. This mix is approximately 80% Worthy Park 7 year aged pot still and 20% Hampden 7 year aged pot still. Hampden rum is hit or miss for me (I apologize if you find that blasphemous); but Worthy Park is probably my favorite distillery in the world andI have yet to find a Worthy Park distillate that I didn’t like. Velier of course is regarded, at least by me, as perhaps the highest quality Independent Bottler of rum in the world. Really, they bottle only the really good stuff.

So what wonders is this rum drinkers dream collab hiding?

On the nose I get both nostrils immediately filled with rotting (not over ripe, but outright rotting) Bananas. Oh hey, Worthy Park, I knew you would show up. Behind that I get Cherry Throat Losanges and furniture polish. Then along comes that distinct Hampden Apple Brandy funk. Come on out, don’t be shy. Oh but we aren’t done. Next comes pungent Vanilla Bean ice cream, Egg Custard, and Guanabana. Pungent Vanilla Bean ice cream is a classic hint that this is the good stuff from Hampden. But egg Custard and Guanabana is also rather fascinating.

One of the issues I have with Hampden is their sometimes inability to translate the nose to the palate. One reason I love Worthy Park is that in the words of Anakin Skywalker they ‘don’t suffer such weaknesses’. So who wins out here in this blend in that respect, Worthy Park or Hampden? Worthy Park, definitely.

On the palate here I get very ripe (but not rotten) Bananas and then…Pineapple flavored Milk Curds?! Okay, lol. So in Germany you can buy flavored milk curds, extremely creamy and rather tasty. This rum nails Pineapple flavored milk curds - awesome. Then Hampden takes a turn: Apple Brandy and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream rounded out by egg Custard and Guanabana. Nose -> Palate = Complete.

The finish here is fantastic and quite long. It’s one of the better finishes I have had on a rum recently. It starts out with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Egg Custard and then transitions to overripe Bananas and just a touch of wood spice. After I set the glass down a while I taste a deep Butter Pecan ice cream.

So you know those reviews where you have the sample and then you decide you “need more” and then you decide “well I will just enjoy another without critiquing it” and then you realize you have had 1/3 of the bottle? Yeah, that’s this.

I think the rum nerd community has been dreaming of a Worthy Park - Hampden collab done by Velier. In fact if could dream up a Jamaican distillery collaboration it would be pretty close to this (I guess I would pick Worthy Park and Long Pond, but maybe I am an overly picky bastard). But this…this is just great. I don’t mean Bill Lumberg “great”; I mean really actually great. Like waking up on a Wednesday and going bass fishing instead of work and then cleaning it on your office desk only to be promoted because you “show initiative”-great.

Thus verily I say unto to you: when you see Velier do a collab of two Jamaican tropically aged rums from Worthy Park and Hampden, buy that shit while you can. Please and Thank You. Papalin Jamaica 7 Year Blend.

Short Description: If you love Jamaican funk and asked the best IB in the world to pick and blend tropically aged high ester rums from the two best Jamaican distilleries…yeah, this is that.

ABV: 47%

Country of Origin: Jamaica

Distillery: A blend of two rums from Worthy Park and Hampden each aged 7 years in their respective distillery prior to blending

Nose: Rotting Banana, Cherry Throat Losanges, Furniture Polish, Apple Brandy, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Guanabana, Custard

Palate: Very ripe Banana, Pineapple flavored Milk Curds, Apple Brandy, Custard, Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream,

Finish: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Custard, overripe Banana, just a touch of wood spice, long after Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Marriage of rums from Hapden and Worthy Park Destilleries. Rums from Hampden were aged in bourbon and sherry casks. Of course its Jamaican rum.
Nose:
Incredibly unappealing hahaha
Smelling that bad boy gives You whole variety of chemicals and clays from construction store. But aight lets get to the best part.
Taste:
Thats some funky stuff
Absolute flavorbomb, very complex,
First you get a slight hit of spice with nail polish notes although that quickly blurs into dark fruits, eucalyptus, dates, ripe bananas, pineapple and spices.
The ,,sip journey’’ ends with a very smooth, dopamine boosting natural sweetness.
Finish:
Medium with great aftertaste

Getting to the nitty gritty, this rum is a true masterpiece with remarkable flow of flavours which change during the sip.

If you find this rum, buy it. It’s very good and also in a great price.
Cheers lads

I walked into my favorite liquor store today to pick up another bottle of Long Pond ITP-15 from Jamaica. Thankfully, it was still there as another worthy repeat purchase. Then not too far away, I saw this one for only $54 US. I remember seeing nothing but rave reviews on it, so I had another WTF moment and brought it home.

Then I finally read all of the reviews before opening it. Only one pointed out that this is 80% Worthy Park and 20% Hampden, with each being aged 7 years. I am also not a fan of Hampden, so this was good to know. Nowhere on the gift box did it state the percentages, or even the names of the two distilleries. But it did say that they were "Vatted" instead of being aged in casks. It is bottled by Velier and I had been pleased with the clairins that they bottle.

My initial aroma on this new rum was of my only bottle of Caroni that I tried last year, a 17 year from 2000 that was also bottled by Velier. In other words, dirty notes! However, the 47% ABV burn basically obliterates most of the dirty notes. This stuff really burned my tongue! Time for watering it down. Ah, this is much better and really allowed those distinct Jamaican notes to come out, but still not worthy of my rating of 8.

The resemblance to my 2000 Caroni that I tried last year is uncanny. Only two of you at this time have had the good fortune to try this Caroni while also being able to afford it at more than four times the price of this one. For those of you who have always wanted to try a Caroni but either could not find it nor could afford it, this one is your chance. My Caroni was 110 proof and this one is 92 proof. Somehow, this one burns a lot more. Go figure! And somehow, this one still winds up as a good buy, but not an excellent buy.

As I continue my rum journey (fully converted), I start to understand value of price point …in combination with availability both short and long term, in providing an experience with the flavors themselves. With of course who created the drink. For me, at this price, I think this has an amazing flavor profile, with the history of the two players…what more do you honestly want out of a Jamaican collab? Funky banana in the mid 90 proof with all the other up front and finishing notes that are left to interpretation by the final user…perfect amount of gas for me. Everything***considered. 9/10.

This is vatted rum of two Jamaican rums, from Worthy Park and Hampden.
It is good, but I was expecting a slightly better rum as both distilleries produce about the best spirits in the world.
For me this is not 'the best of both', although the ripe bananas, honeysuckle and spicy, woody finish are simply good.

Must buy for fans of Jamaican rum - rich and deep funk; overripe banana, pineapple, apricot with a touch of rich molasses and toffee. Tastes like the first hot day of the summer before the humidity gets too high. A bit of a bite, though not unpleasant. A fine addition - this rum will shine in straightforward, simple drinks, or on it’s own

Sattes Strohgelb im Glas.
In der Nase Frisch und fruchtig. Zuerst ein Hauch von Scheibenreiniger und Klebstoff, danach überreife tropische Früchte, Karamell, Holznoten und Gewürze.
Am Gaumen elegant und geschmeidig. Früchte, Karamell, Vanille, Gewürze, Hölzer in schöner Harmonie und irgendwo im Hintergrund spielt doch noch der Funk.
Im Abgang lang und fruchtig. Holz und Karamell gehen zuerst, die Früchte folgen später.
Ein Jamaikaner der sich von seiner elegantesten und besten Seite zeigt, nicht zu "funky" und trotzdem nicht langweilig. Für Einsteiger, Fortgeschrittene und Geniesser.
-dwf-

Rich straw yellow in the glass.
In the nose Fresh and fruity. First a hint of window cleaner and glue, then overripe tropical fruits, caramel, wood notes and spices.
Elegant and smooth on the palate. Fruits, caramel, vanilla, spices, woods in beautiful harmony and yet somewhere in the background the funk is still playing.
Long and fruity finish. Wood and caramel go first, the fruits follow later.
A Jamaican that shows itself from its most elegant and best side, not too "funky" and yet not boring. For beginners, advanced and connoisseurs.
-dwf-

Colour: pale yellow
Nose: tropical fruits, cinnamon
Taste: mellow start, pungent end, tropical fruits all over , starring cinnamon and banana notes, very good balance
Palate: medium dry to sweet
Finishing; long aftertaste without excess

Another good one by Gargano !

Papalin is a Velier project releasing single island blends. This is one of the first. It is a blend of Worthy Park and Hampden.

Of course you have to like the Jamaican style, but if you do, this is an amazing midrange value. Dry, fruity, funky, and enough savory notes to keep you interested and going back for "one more sip." Given the sources, no surprise; Velier has done some great Hampden bottlings, and the addition of Worthy Park adds some subtlety and complexity without completetly loosing the funk wallop. I bought a glass, but I'm going to try to hunt down a bottle!

Wow, excellent blend of Jamaican rums. Nice funk, not overwhelming. Very fruity. No harshness. Would love to sip this. I'm surprised to find out this is mostly Worthy Park, because I tend to like Hampden more, but this is a very nice blend of the two.