Since he treated us to a high ester Habitation Velier HLCF, Luca Gargano has kept releasing lighter versions with less esters and less alcohol !
HLCF alcohol: 68.5%, esters: 550 g/hlpa; LROK alcohol: 67%, esters: 375 g/hlpa; LFCH alcohol: 60,5%, esters: 200 g/hlpa. Can’t complain, taste is what matters the most, but we sort of liked the upward spiral!
They’ve rounded the alcohol content of this Jamaican bottling down to 59%… One tends to find round figures suspicious when they apply to cask strength! Still, this Worthy Park 2007 is a potent rum at 59%, it has 10 years of age, and a little less than 8500 bottles have been made available.
Serendipity or scientific necessity? One might come to the conclusion that the selector is a bit of a rain man… Produced at Mount Gay, the Barbadian distillery that makes the brand’s pot still rums (see our presentation on distilleries in this edition), this Last Ward 2009 is the result of “a very rare triple distillation”, a rare practice in rum-making as pointed out on the label.
In 2006, Frank Ward, a member of the family that owns this distillery, launched his own rum brand, Mount Gilboa, which is Mount Gay’s original name. But these rums, characterised by having been thrice distilled, were less successful than expected. Then Luca Gargano apparently bought 19 casks from one of the first batches and blended them. Last Ward was born, and no one knows if more of it will be made available any time soon!
Habitation Velier Hampden 7 year Old 2011 LFCH (approx. 8500 bottles)
70cl – 66%
Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007
70cl – 59%
Habitation Velier Last Ward 2009
70cl – 59%