For centuries, Jamaica’s finest aged rums have long found immense popularity among connoisseurs around the world.
But for travelers to the island, finding them all in once place hasn’t always been easy.
For the best expressions from storied marques like Appleton to companies like Hampden and Worthy Park, both of which have seen a renaissance in the last decade, it’s often required a distillery journey to secure a bottle.
But now the island’s best rums have a central home, a place where they can all be enjoyed and sampled, joined by some of the most renowned rums from across the wider Caribbean.
This is Lester’s Bar, itself the reincarnation of a historic bar at the original Half Moon resort, now set at the dazzling new Eclipse at Half Moon.
The bar gets its name from the artist Michael Lester, the Montego Bay legend whose mural adorns the bar’s back wall, setting the tone for a bar focused on the art of rum.
And then there’s the rum selection.
It’s all here: a host of Appletons, including the outstanding 12 and 21 and the legendary Appleton 50; Hampden Great House 2019 and 2020; Edwin Charley Virtue; Moneymusk Special Reserve; and Worthy Park Special Barrel Series 14-year-old, among others.
And while it may be hard to believe, it’s one of the only places in the Caribbean where you’ll actually find these sought-after Jamaican rum brands together.
But that’s just the beginning of the story.
From Cuba, you’ll find Havana Club 15 and then the ultra-rare Santiago de Cuba Isla del Tesoro.
From Martinique, Rhum JM 2003 and XO; Rhum Clement XO.
From the wider Caribbean, an all-star lineup, everything from Flor de Cana 25 to Diplomatico Single Vintage 2002 to Admiral Rodney HMS Royal Oak.
And even a stunner from Marie Galante: the full-proof Rhum Rhum PMG Liberation 2017.
It’s a significant addition to the rum world in Jamaica, an island that has long sent much of its best rums abroad.
Now, they’re at home, in a beautiful setting in the Great House at Eclipse; the best rum bar in Jamaica fittingly in the island’s premier resort.
For more visit Eclipse.
If you love the best rums from around the Caribbean, don’t miss this year’s Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth, a weeklong event celebrating artisanal rum from around the region.