Boardroom Spirits Ship's Cat Navy Strength Overproof Rum

Another fine, very affordable purchase from Boardroom yielded this surprisingly rare find; an overproof rum that actually isn't aged. At first I thought it would be too harsh, but I remember it being good enough to have gone home with the bottle, and it was only the first or second thing I tried while I was there. I didn't know what I would do with it at first, since it's a bit too high of an ABV to drink neat, but then I thought "overproof mojito." So, I chose this off the tasting shelf so that I can immediately use some mint (that's been in the fridge since I bought this bottle, and is right at the cusp of becoming dry and unusable) and try said mojitos after the review is done. A grain-forward nose wasn't what I expected from sugar cane and molasses, especially with no oak to interfere. The ethanol is also very low for this proof point, which allows sweet and somewhat vegetal notes through, and a very clean finish. The key that I'm noticing is, although the ethanol burn is lower than I expected, it replaces a light, watery body and nose that I usually get from most unaged rums at lower proof points. Not a whole lot else is here on the nose that's unique, but still preludes what I expect to be a tasty, simple, approachable rum. The body is so light it's almost boring at first, which means that the flavors are quite balanced despite the high ABV. Having said that, that first burn really expands through the base of the throat and top of the stomach. Moving past that, I get tropical flavors of coconut as well as pineapple and mango rind. A bitterness that's welcome is also present, like that found in a lighter herbsaint. A few sips in not only begins to get things hot, but even swells the tongue and tastes/feels like a mouthwash burn. The molasses and sugar cane are still equally balanced, as they are tasted all the way through to the end, where the finish is quite hot and consists of a small cleaner/hand sanitizer finishing note in addition to the tropical ones from before. Drinking this now on an empty palate really emphasizes how different this is from most other unaged rums, and, although delicious in it's own right, makes this difficult to recommend to just anyone off the street. This was not their only unaged rum there, so I'm happy that this was made to cater to a higher proof crowd, with the proof definitely quite high indeed. This is highly aggressive for even myself when drinking neat, but the thought of that overproof mojito sounds better and better knowing that all syrups, fruit, and other herbs added to any cocktail will be balanced nicely by the sweetness and herbaceousness from this higher proof unique rum.