Blessings! I think Tom may have mentioned that he is traveling to Jamaica with me next February. My experience on the island and deep connections Hampden, Appleton Estate, NRJ and Worthy Park allow access beyond the normal tour. We go deep into places at Hampden that are usually off limits, share a BBQ and Rumpus (party) with the Hampden team after hours, have a Masterclass with Joy Spence or David Morrison and (usually) receive access to Long Pond and Clarendon. Of course Alex, Zan and Shunna Guy give us a nice taste of Worthy Park as well. On top of all this, and just as important as the rum is you get to see the real Jamaica, not some resort hotel. Local properties, bars, people and generally far removed from the tourist corridor of Negril, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios. They’re all great places too, but we want the “real JamRock” and that’s what we strive to provide.
For example: Howard, the operations manager and blender at Hampden is a wealth of knowledge and loves my rum punch. A few punches and he can explain miniate of the distillation process that will thrill rum geeks. These are the actual people tending the fermentation tanks, working in the ester labs and running the batches every day.