A Jamaican wake-up call

Wow! The aroma conjured up, as if by magic, fudge, pinecone jam, amarone wine, Turkish delight and rum-filled dark chocolate pralines decorated with pistachios, matcha and hibiscus sugar. It was surprisingly spicy to start with on the palate neat before candied bitter orange, almond cookies and candied walnuts appeared. In the finish, we noted dark chocolate pots with a cherry compote. Following reduction, we enjoyed a New York deli pastrami sandwich alongside a cocktail, a Jamaican wake-up, consisting of dark navy-style rum, vanilla syrup and Italian coffee liqueur. The taste was now like a slice of galette des rois, that pastry cake filled with almond cream and frangipane, candied fruits and soaked with plenty of rum. This whisky slumbered in a bourbon hogshead for 9 years before being moved to a fresh Spanish oak oloroso sherry hogshead for the remainder of its maturation.