Doctor Bird Jamaica Rum is blended and bottled in Detroit by a company called Two James. It seems to have quite the following in North America and it’s easy to see why. First of all, the label design is stunning. To me it’s one of the best looking labels out there. However, one only has to look at Don Papa to realize a stunning label doesn’t guarantee good rum. For the rum they decided to go with Worthy Park in Jamaica. A very wise choice if I may say so. To put their own stamp or twist on the product, they finished the rum in moscatel cask, which is a sweet fortified wine. It's finally bottled at 50% abv.
When searching the internet for info on this rum, a lot of sites and articles suggest it has been aged in Jamaica for a minimum of 6 years. When I tasted it, my impression was that of a younger product. This prompted me to ask Zan Kong of Worthy Park to share his wisdom. He confirmed my hunch. There is definitely 6 year WP juice in there, but it’s blended with younger WP rum. The younger ones likely being the majority. He also suggested the moscatel finish is about 6 months long.
Nosing
Banana, pineapple and overripe fruit are very clear. There is a smell of a charcuterie platter or the scent you get when walking into a deli shop. Next up are wood, mild coconut and mint. It’s a funky, room filling smell!
Tasting
Overripe fruit, banana and mint are back. I love the flavour of burnt wood that turns into a beautiful sweet smokiness. It’s got quite the bite to it and seems young. Finish is pretty long and bitter. That bitterness is slightly disappointing to me.
Conclusion
I like this rum. It’s hard not to like Worthy Park juice in my humble opinion. It reminds me a bit of Hamilton Jamaica, which is also originating from Worthy Park.
The Doctor Bird being an improved version of it.
I absolutely loved the sweet smokey wood flavour and wanted to score it higher than I eventually did. The bitterness on the finish is what held it back slightly. Still, this rum should be a standard feature in our liquor stores in Toronto as I believe it would sell well, especially to the bar scene as it seems to be a great cocktail ingredient. But….it isn’t available….of course.
Score: 75
Click here for info on the scoring method.
Actually, The Funk also has rum from WP
Thanks! Not sure which other brands have WP juice, apart from Velier. Worthy Park is selling their rum in the US. The Single Estate Reserve and Rum Bar.
excellent write up. What other brands aside from Hamilton and Doctor Funk does WP make juice for? Also ive heard that WP doesnt export their own brands rum to the US right now, is that true?