ctbeck11
Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum
Navy Rum — Jamaica
Reviewed
September 21, 2021 (edited June 10, 2022)
Nose - rotten banana, charred orange peel, molasses, spoiled cream, leather, rubber, lemon, pineapple, caramel, lime, brown sugar, sweet vegetal notes, polished wood, tangy BBQ sauce, high ethanol burn.
Taste - rancid orange oil, molasses, ginger, chili pepper, overripe banana, bitter herbal notes, decomposing grass, leather, tobacco, sour apple, honey, charcoal, grape, lemon, pineapple, clove, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with citrus oil, overripe banana, chili pepper, and molasses flavors.
After a brief hiatus that involved a spirituous trip to Kentucky for the bourbon festival, I’m back to rum reviewing. And this is one spicy meatball. It certainly brings the funk, with strong citrus oils, rotting banana, various spoiling tropical fruits, and decomposing foliage.
This is very youthful and alcoholic on the nose and palate, almost too much to be enjoyable without dilution. It’s better suited to mixing, but this isn’t a terrible sipper on its own. It’s slightly reminiscent of Springbank’s rotting, citrusy quality. Overall it’s decent, but I would be interested in recommendations for more refined offerings with a similar profile.
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@pkingmartin Whoa, that was a bombshell! I'm getting whipsawed by Penderyn's massive quality variations. I'm really hoping that they're a good distillery with a few bad releases rather than the other way around.
Loving all these anti-recommendations. I hope to stumble across some of them one day.
@PBMichiganWolverine Haha! I’ll pack a sample for you but you might want to read my review for the cautionary tale before proceeding for a taste. Not sure if it will beat roadkill barbecue though.🤔
@pkingmartin wait, a Penderyn was the worst?!!? If you still any left, send a sample next time around. Curious to see if it beats my Abhainn Dearg rotten roadkill benchmark
I have a bottle of this at home that I occasionally get a sip from, thinking my palate will have changed enough to appreciate it, but I just don't find the rancid and rotting notes much to my liking.
@PBMichiganWolverine I’m amazed it wasn’t Floki Sheep Dung, but I guess spoiled raccoon meat must be worse than a liquid turd. My worst whisky is Penderyn 12 year Ruby Cask. I still have the bottle and it seems to be getting worse with air.
@ContemplativeFox yeah…between roadkill and Tabasco, I’ll take the Tabasco.
@PBMichiganWolverine I recall you tried that tobasco dickel too. It says a lot that you put Abhainn Dearg below that.
@PBMichiganWolverine Wow, the sheer consistency of disgust with that whisky is amazing!
John Dew rye is the only thing I’ve poured down the drain and Bozal tepeztate is the only bar pour I couldn’t finish… the latter might have contained human remains
@ctbeck11 might be a good time to check if your life insurance policy is up to date… ;-)
@ContemplativeFox Abhainn Dearg for me…paid up the nose for their inaugural whisky…wasn’t able to get past the nose. ( search it here…I have a review )
@ContemplativeFox Canadian Mist and Glen Logie are the first that come to mind, along with an assortment of flavored vodkas. Everclear is in the mix as well, but it’s questionable whether that should even be considered a potable spirit. I’m sure there’s a whole world of garbage liquor out there that would make these look tame. I’ll happily accept recommendations that may unseat these leaders of the loserboard.
@ctbeck11 Is there something that currently holds the throne of worst spirit you've ever tried?
@ContemplativeFox @pkingmartin Bring it on! I’ll be impressed if the bar can be set lower than some of the swill I’ve tried.
@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington I suspect I’ll still be paying them for years to come. It’s all part of the fun.
@pkingmartin In case that happens, I'm calling dibs on sending Southern Comfort.
@ctbeck11 I feel like you asked for a challenge to really offend your tastebuds. Perhaps everyone can pick out their most heinous swill and send a sample of it to you as a competition to earn the truly the most offensive of all category.
@ctbeck11 😂 you’ve paid some steep dues
@Ctrexman Seriously. Two years ago, I bet this one would have completely horrified me. Now after sipping on Everclear and attempting to tease out the complexities in a Glencairn of Canadian Mist, it takes a heroic effort to phase me.
Rotten, rancid, rotting, decomposing....hmmm.....amazing we even drink this stuff nevermind like it as we do it