When whisky evaporates from the cask it's being aged in we call that lost spirit the Angels Share. In the Caribbean this is attributed to a much more sinister and frightening being; The Duppy. Legend states that Duppies are dark, shade like spirits that live in the bases of cotton trees and have a particular taste for rum. A great deal of Caribbean folklore revolves around these malevolent spirits and they are considered to either be the souls of the deceased or supernatural beings with malicious intent. When they are not haunting people, it's said that they fly between the islands in the dead of night and steal the best of the rum; this is called the Duppy Share. The Westbourne Drinks Company, headed up by George Frost and Jess Swinfen, took this tale and decided to create a high quality Jamaican blended rum in homage to it. They appropriately named it The Duppy Share and is a blend of three year old rum from the Worthy Park Estate in Jamaica and a five year old offering from the Foursquare Distillery in Barbados. The Worthy Park Estate started growing sugar in 1721 and distilling rum in 1740, the earliest record of rum production in Jamaica. Worthy park grows all of their own sugar cane, makes their own molasses and distils and ages their rum on site. Their traditional copper pot still gives the rum its distinctive Jamaican punch. The rum is aged in old white oak bourbon barrels. The warm days and cool nights of the Jamaican hills increase the rate of ageing, giving the rum exceptional flavour and character. The prestigious Foursquare Distillery is presided over by fourth-generation master distiller, Richard Seal. A combination of continuous and pot still distillation gives the rum a unique character. Aged for five years in old bourbon barrels, the rum is beautifully smooth with notes of caramel and oak and a warm buttery finish.
The Duppy Share is a gorgeous golden brown colour in the glass; fruity notes of banana and pineapple from the Jamaican rum assail the nose along with sweet sugar and vanilla. It is obvious that this rum is aged in oak barrels. There is a lot going on here but not so much as to overwhelm you. In the mouth there is substantial weight with a heavy body that is at odds with the nose. There is initial sweetness that makes way into soothing tropical fruit (banana, pineapple and peach) followed by the smoothness of butter, creamy vanilla; this I would imagine comes from the Barbados portion of the rum that has been used to great effect balancing out this tasty blend. The finish, which is long, ends with some nice spice and dry oak. I feel that this rum is intended as a high quality mixing rum and it goes beautifully with a dash of coke. Having said that, I feel that this could also be enjoyed neat over ice as the complex flavours hold up nicely on there own. All in all a very good rum with a nice backstory; you can buy a bottle of Duppy Share here.