Jamrock 2026 – Jamaica Travel Report

[Schnubbii]

All this talk about a trip into Armagnac made me remember that I needed to finalize the report on my recent trip to Jamaica that I wanted to post. So, here it is, welcome to my travel report regarding this years’ trip to Jamaica organized by the one and only Robert Polo / @Jamrock!

Come for the rum, stay for the island, the people and the culture

I will not go too much into the nerdy details of the different rums and distilleries as most of you already know them (and probably better than I do) and rather focus on my personal impressions. I will also not just talk about the distilleries as this would not do this fantastic trip justice .

Melissa lick we do wn

As most of you already know, at the end of last October Jamaica was hit by a category 5 hurricane which was named Hurricane Melissa and was the strongest recorded hurricane to strike Jamaica. What made it so devastating were the maximum sustained winds of over 300 mk/h combined with a forward momentum of only around 3 km /h.

In the end, in Jamaica 45 casualties were attributed to Melissa, besides catastrophic destruction and devastation especially near the point of landfall in the South of the isl and.

Besides being the catastrophe it was for Jamaica, it was obvious this was also going to have a big impact on how we would experience the island during our jou rney.

Kingston Town: History, music and a very Joy-ful e vening

After arriving on the island it was time to meet up, get some local currency and some much needed local street food and drinks, making a very chill first contact with Charlie’s JB and Ting at the Kingston wate rfront.

The next morning we started with a very nice breakfast at our home base for Kingston, the Terra Nova Hotel, which boasts a rich history. Originally, it served the Myers family (of the Myers rum fortune) as a residence. It was sold to Percival Henriques, who gave it to his daughter Blanche Lindo as a wedding present on her marriage to Major Joseph O’Malley Blackwell, a British officer in the Irish guards. They had a son named Chris Blackwell, who would eventually found Island Records, the record company who brought us Bob Marley and Grace Jones as well as other popular bands. In 1959 the mansion was then sold and opened as the Terra Nov a Hotel.

Once we had enough Ackee and Saltfish, the famous and very unique Jamaican national dish based on the Ackee fruit and salted cod, it was time to head out to visit the Bob Marley museum. We found the place to be rather touristy, nonetheless visiting the place following our Rastaman guide was definitely worth the experience (which included sin ging).

Next up was a visit to Trenchtown, the place where Bob Marley used to live and where he wrote “No Woma n, No Cry”.

After all these impressions and having some local fast food at Juicy Patties it was time to rest up a bit and get ready for the main event in the evening. Before we left for Jamaica, Robert had shared some rather disappointing news: We wouldn’t be meeting Joy Spence at the Appleton Estate since she would be out of Jamaica celebrating her 75^th birthday. The other actually incredible news was that instead we were invited to her house in Kingston for a private dinner and drinks! And so it came that this evening we were welcomed by the legend of Appleton Estate, her eminence Dr. Joy Spence herself at her home. We were led to the veranda of the place where we were treated with fantastic Jamaican food, got to share news from our home countries and listen to Joy, her husband and Robert sharing stories about Jamaica and the rum business. Of course, there was also rum involved and so we got to try the Appleton 21, the Hearts 2002, the Ruby and the Appleton Legend 17. We concluded with the Appleton 15, to accompany the delicious Coconut Sweet Potato Pie as dessert.

Could it get even more incredib le than this?

“This is not coffee, this is Bl ue Mountain”

It hardly could, and yet our journey had only just started. The next day, after a hearty breakfast at the Terra Nova it was time to visit the downtown area of Kingston. Once a pretty run-down area, it had been brightened up since around 2017 with now 108 murals. These are not just some random graffiti, this is genuine art intended to reflect on the cultural heritage of Kingsto n and Jamaica.

You can find more information here :

https://king stoncreative /

I had not expected to be so impressed by the quality and the different vibes of the murals, all referring to different aspects of Jamaican culture. In my opinion this is a must-see spot in Kingston.

After we had finished taking in all these impressions it was time to leave Kingston for an excursion to see the famous Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains not only feature an impressive flora and fauna (including the endemic Doctor Bird, a species of humming bird and national bird of Jamaica), but also offer the perfect climate to grow coffee. Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is pretty renowned around the world and among coffee nerds. It is also bloody expensive due to the comparably small area where it can be cultivated. It is in high demand around the world, especially in Japan, where around 80% of t he supply ends up.

In a remote café in the heights of the Blue Mountains we were treated by “Bag Juice” with a freshly brewed cup of the highest grade while “Junior” was giving us a presentation about coffee in general and Blue Mountain in particular. I’ve never really been much of a coffee drinker, I usually prefer tea, but this was one of the best cups of coffee in my life. It had almost no acidity (the pH value is around 6.5) and offered a very earthy, jungle-y taste. Of course I needed to bring some home, and we also bought some to sha re during our trip.

After a very relaxing time in the Blue Mountains we moved on to our next stop: The famous Kingston Dub Club, where we had an early dinner and a fantastic view on the sunset over Kingston. We called it a day and returned to the hotel, but not before getting a late night snack at KFC (which for some reason is enormously popular among Jamaicans).

[Schnubbii]

Go where the WiFi is weak and the Rum is strong

One more breakfast at the Terra Nova and we hit the road towards our next destination: Lluidas Vale, which is the home of a well-known distillery called Worthy Park. Distilling rum is actually only a small fraction of Worthy Park’s business, the vast majority of the turnover is generated by selling sugar. You can find their sugar in supermarkets all over the island in different grades .

Upon approaching the lush and very green vale you have a fantastic view over the sugarcane fields and can already spot the distillery in the distance. The visitor’s center was actually closed that day, but Robert still had managed to arrange a tour for us, and so we were welcomed at the site by our tour guide Alex. After being treated with some rum punch first, we drove to the cane fields where we discovered the foundations of the original Worthy Park sugar factory and the ruins of the windmill that used to power it. Now everyone had the opportunity to cut their own sugar cane with a machete (and your foot if you weren’t careful enough).

It turned out that being such a small group also had its advantages, and so after we headed back to the site we were allowed to visit the sugar factory which is usually closed off to larger groups of visitors (and of course the public in general). Alex introduced us to every step of the process, from crushing the fresh sugar cane which is brought from the fields to the site with large trucks called “Hoppers”, to the extraction of the cane juice which is then turned into a syrup by boiling and the subsequent separation of the sugar crystals, with molasses as the residue. Worthy park use a mix of different varieties of sugar cane, not just a single one. In the end, 10 tons of cane produce 1 ton of sugar. We were able to see the whole factory including the centrifuges and the molasses tanks, having to step over a small (but delicious) spillover at one point.

After that it was time to finally see the distillery. Upon entering we were greeted by the large molasses tank with a capacity of 55 tons, as well as the fermentation tanks of which some are made of wood and some of the newer ones are made of plastic. Inside we found the heart of the distillery, the Worthy Park Double Retort Pot still in all her beauty. The spirits are kept in large tanks before being filled in casks which are then labelled depending on the mark and subsequently stored in the warehouse. The smell in the warehouse really was something else. We were also able to see the bottling line.

After the tour Alex had one more highlight for us back at the visitor’s center: We were fortunate enough being allowed to taste some potential future releases (top secret for now) and give our opinion about t hose .

We gave our thanks to Alex for this amazing and thorough tour and headed back to the road that would take us north towards Duncans where we would stay for the next couple of days. We made a lunch break at a local shack were we had some of the best jerk chicken of the whole trip on the island.

In Duncans we had booked two bungalows close to the beach for ourselves. When we arrived we didn’t know yet how lucky we were to also have Tamara, one of the house keepers, cook for us during our stay. On the road we were also very lucky to find some plantain for offer (a starchy, very tasty kind of banana, of which supplies were still short due to Melissa), and with this and other groceries Tamara created a fantastic dinner, to conclude this long but amazing day.

“What mark is your hand sanitizer?”

We started the next day with an early breakfast (courtesy of Tamara) and some Blue Mountain and then we left Duncans for a drive into the Cockpit Country, the heart of Trelawny. The road turned more and more into a concept of a road, but our experienced driver Dwayne managed this challenge with stoic serenity, and after a while we finally arrived at Hampden Estate, my personal rum Valhalla. The funk was strong in the air already when we approached the premises. You could also notice some of the damage Melissa did to the area. Foliage and vines were picked from the trees and also the Hampden Great House, which seemed damaged in some areas, and the warehouse had already been outfitted with a new roof. We said Hi! to Carolina, the old still that had been put in front of the estate, and then finally entered the hallowed grounds.

We were greeted very friendly by the Hampden staff who sprayed our hands with what is probably the best smelling hand sanitizer in the world. After being treated to some rum punch in the visitor’s center (powered by Rum Fire) we met our guide Peppie Grant who is not only managing the tours but is also the Hussey’s eyes and ears on the site. He is also responsible for some of Hampden’s recent bottlings like the Maverick.

Peppie gave us a brief introduction to Hampden and its history and then we started the tour of the distillery. Compared to Worthy Park this distillery is seemingly older, but not less impressive at all. Every few meters you are hit by a new smell from esters, molasses or dunder for example. We were shown the stills, the dunder tanks and also some other parts of the distillery including the “heart” of the distillery that houses the fermentation tanks and the infamous muck pit, which are usually off-limits for visitors. All mixing of the fermented liquids is done via gravity-fed trenches before they are transferred to the stills. The distilled spirits are only allowed to be called “rum” at 85.5% or above. At Hampden, they usually sit between 85.5% and 87% after distillation. The residue from the stills is called “dunder” and transferred to large tanks which are around 25 feet deep. Dunder is then used in subsequent fermentations to make the creation of higher ester marks possible by boosting the acidity of the liquids.

After visiting the stills it was time to check out the lab for some quality control. The first rum we got to try was a HGML from 2018 at 62% which I hope will be released at some point here in Europe because I urgently need a bottle of this (or five). It was that good. The next rum we tried was a 4500 ester powerhouse at 87% which really made you grow hair on your chest.

Afterwards we had jerk chicken and festival for lunch at the Hampden Great House, served by the charming Miss Jenny who does the cooking there. Sitting at the Great House terrace and watching the peacocks made this a very special and memorable experience. There are around 30 peacocks at the premise which are allowed to roam free and serve as “watchdogs”, as they will announce unknown visitors to the premise s very loudly.

Eventually, our time at this magic place came to an end. We checked out the visitor’s center, but aside from the recent Great House releases there was currently nothing that we didn’t already know and that we fancied. And so we thanked everyone and made our way back to Duncans, but not before inviting them for dinner. And so it came that after some time for relaxation we welcomed Peppie and part of the Hampden team at our place for another fantastic dinner created by Tamara.

The next day we decided to stay at Duncans and just relax, swim, enjoy Tamara’s meals and digest the impressions of our journey so far.

[Schnubbii]

Chasing waterfalls (and succeeding)

It was time to continue our trip and this day very early so. Not only to watch night turn into day at the beach with a big hot cup of Blue Mountain, something that I can only recommend and that has become one of my favorite memories of this trip. But also because we wanted to hit Dunn’s River Falls as soon as they open, to get one or maybe two good runs before all the people from the cruise boats arrive and the place gets crowded. There is a good reason this is one of Jamaica’s most popular destinations. Where else do you get to climb a series of waterfalls that run directly into the ocean, where you start climbing from a beautiful beach with golden sand and crystal clear water?

Climbing these rocks comes at your own risk though and wearing water shoes is a must. There are protrusions and indentations in the rocks that make it rather easy to understand where you’re supposed to climb. Still, some of these were rather slippery and hard to grab and you definitely can injure yourself pretty badly if you don’t pay attention and fall off .

We took it slow, in the end we succeeded and got one full run before the boatloads (literally) of other tourists arrived. This was such a fun and unique experience and for me personally is also one of the activities you should do at least once when on the island. We relaxed a bit at the beautiful sandy beach and in the basins of the falls before we went back to join Robert and Dwayne for another delicious lunch with jerk chicken, pork, sausage and festiva l.

A lost place in the heart of the wilderness

Rested and saturated we continued our trip that day into the jungle-y heart of Trelawny Parish once more. There we met ranger Steve who lead us to a very special place: the ruins of the original Vale Royal Distillery! Originally surrounded by sugar cane fields, the distillery was closed in 1959 and the remains of the distillery now were pretty run-down and overgrown with vegetation after being abandoned so many years ago. Still, from the majestic entranceway and the remains of the coloured windows one could imagine the original grandeur of this place. A very special place with a unique atmosphere just sitting there in the middle of the Trelawny wilderness. We stayed outside and didn’t dare to explore the buildings though as we gauged the risk of parts of the building collapsing on us wasn’t exactly low.

On the way back to Duncans we made a stop at a Rastafari farm whose people Robert had befriended on one of his earlier trips. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any of the Papayas they had planted left to share with us as Melissa had claimed all of their harvest (with the exception of the herb bed). It was frightening to hear from them how they had survived the raw force of the storm only because their dog had woken them in the middle of the night with his barking and then they had managed to find shelter in their nearby shed which was a bit sturdier - only to find afterwards that their home which was mainly built out of board had literally vanished into thin air. We traded a little something for something else and made our way back to Duncans for one last fantastic dinner conjured by Ta mara.

Next stop: Mandeville

After breakfast and saying goodbye to Tamara (and the beach) in Duncans we headed out towards Mandeville which would be our third home base on Jamaica. But not before stopping at two other prominent places: Long Pond Sugar Factory and Long Pond Distillery! Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed access this year as apparently the distillery had taken some heavy damage from Melissa, so we could only take pictures from outside the fence. But it was enough to get an impression of the premises (and a glimpse of the disti llery).

Afterwards we continued towards Mandeville on what would slowly turn into another one of Dwayne’s Off-Road Adventures. Lots of potholes and washouts in and around the road, and my smartwatch congratulating me for continuously walking for 10 minutes while I’ve been sitting on my butt all the time really complemented our experience of taking the scenic route. Still, no match for Dwayne’s driving skills.

And so we returned safely to civilization and made a stop for refreshments and snacks. We eventually arrived at our next accommodation, a big estate that once used to serve as the great house of a surrounding coffe e pl antation.

It was around tea time and we had a date with Joy (yes, another Joy) in Mandeville who is a returner, a Jamaican expatriate who has lived all over the world and returned to Jamaica for retirement. She’s a very nice old lady who shared with us interesting stories about Mandeville and her li fe abroad.

For dinner we decided that it was time for some seafood after all the (delicious but ample) jerk chicken we’ve had had during our journey so far. The place looked more like a bar but turned out to serve fantastic fish boil and lobster at prices one can only dream of in Germany.

The Source

Today it was time to visit the famous Nassau Valley in Elizabeth Parish. On the way there we passed the infamous Duppy (“Ghost”) Church, apparently Jamaica’s most haunted place. Fortunately, we were there in plain daylight, so no need to be afraid to explore and take some pictures, and then we continued on.

Originally, we were supposed to get a private tour of the Appleton Estate (which was still closed), but apparently there was some construction work going on due to damage from Melissa and therefore it was not possible this time. But Joy and Robert did everything they could to find an alternative to make our visit worthwhile and so eventually we were allowed to visit The Source which provides the water for all Appleton rum. The last time visitors (aside from the local workers) were allowed to visit The Source was about 10 years ago (or so we were told), so apparently we’re now part of a pretty e xclusive club.

The Source is a very serene spot within the sugarcane fields, I think the picture spe aks for itself:

The Source flows into the Black River on which the rum barrels used to be transported by rafts. Black River leads into the sea near a town with the same name. Following Black River (the river) to Black River (the town) we passed by Appleton Estate where we could witness the damage Melissa had done to the dist illery ourselves:

[Schnubbii]

Pelicans and Overproof

The closer we came to Black River (the town), the more apparent the destruction from Melissa became. Huge trees had been unearthed, whole areas had been cleared of trees, lots of landslides and washouts, several new scenic views that according to Robert weren’t there before because they used to be obstructed by vegetation. In Black River Melissa had landed on the island and the water had been around 8 meters high. Concrete buildings had been smashed and the whole town just wasn’t really there anymore. It was devastating to see this kind of destruction. Still, people lived there and tried to get back on their feet and regain their business by selling peppered shrimp on the streets or providing services for visitors.

And so we boarded a small boat which drove us to a famous little spot around 2 km offshore: Floyd’s Pelican Bar! Of course, the original bar also had been destroyed by Melissa, but with the help of some sponsors (and some of the carved boards Floyd had stored somewhere else) they were able to reopen rather quickly again and just 2 weeks before we went there. The place is a wooden bar on a sandbank. The water is very shallow, you can stand on the ground when you go for a swim (what we did), only around the bar they seem to have dug a bit deeper so the small boats transporting the visitors can go there. Nearby there are Pelicans looking to catch some fish (hence the name).

It’s a very unique place where you can enjoy a beer or some Ting and Overproof on the water and just relax in the sun, listening to chill Jamaican music.

It was also a surreal experience enjoying ourselves there and having fun after having witnessed the destruction just a few kilometres close by. But then they need the business, so we gave rather big tips where it was due and deserved. Back on the beach we decided to stay there and enjoy the sunset which really was something else. Some more jerk chicken on the way back to Mandeville for dinner and we called it a day.

Overproof o’clock at Jake’s / Treasure Beach

The next day we decided to take it easy and just relax at Treasure beach which is also in the Southwest of Jamaica, but a bit more to the east compared to Black River. We enjoyed a swim at the local beach, followed by a nice early dinner and some “enhanced” Rum & Raisin ice cream. Because we left early we were able to catch the sunset at Lover’s Leap in all its glory.

New Yarmouth here we come!

After breakfast with some Rum Cake and Blue Mountain we said goodbye to Mandeville as it was time to head back towards Kingston. On the way there we would stop at two distilleries, one expecting us and the other one… not so much. First on the list was New Yarmouth where we would take some pictures and MAYBE be allowed to take a picture inside the premises if we were very lucky. It turned out that not even Robert’s charm was strong enough to convince Devon, the very kind but also very straightforward leading hand to the distillery manager, to let us in for a quick picture.

No one could hinder us to take some pictures from outside though, so we did exactly that and also drove around the premises. This brought us rather close to the wash tanks and with that to a rather rural olfactory experience that reminded us of blue cheese gone bad in the sun. Now we really had experienced everything New Yarmouth distillery had to offer to us that day and so we moved on to a place where we would be a lot more welcome:

At Clarendon Distillery we were greeted by Robert and Kimberley of National Rums of Jamaica at the QA lab. After a quick check-in and gear-up Kimberley showed us around the distillery which was quite an experience because it is very much a factory. No visitor’s centre, no fancy stuff, just the raw industrial charm of a proud workhorse distillery - and I personally love that. During our tour the old sugar factory nearby was looming in the background like a huge Transformer robot, waiting to come to live at any moment.

Nowadays, Clarendon distillery doesn’t produce the molasses it requires for the production of rum itself but procures it externally. Kimberley’s tour also brought us close to the huge column still that is visible even from far away and basically a landmark of Clarendon Distillery. This is also where the recently much appraised Monymusk Plantation MSR 2007 LTO (RX21163) wa s distilled.

After returning to the QA lab it was time for some quality control. We were allowed to try several lab samples, including an unaged MLC (Clarendon’s highest ester mark) at 84.6% which was surprisingly smooth to drink despite the high alcohol content and which we recommended to bottle and sell immediately. This prompted Toby to ask for an aged version of MLC as something like that is rather difficult to find on the market. Kimberley was so kind not only to bring us an MLC from 2015 to try which we found to be amazing, but also provide us with a sample to take home and share. There are definitely worse ways to start the week on a Monday morning.

We did not come empty-handed though and so we (Toby actually) brought a bottle of the Finedrams EMB 1995 (RX16024) for them to try as this is something they usually cannot find on Jamaica. We shared our thoughts about the current rum business and latest releases and then it was time for us to move on. Thanks so much Kimberley and Robert for you r hospitality!

Afterwards we stopped at a place called Salt River where they offered fried chicken and fish for lunch. It was also a very calm and chill spot with mangroves where the locals use the nearby river to swim and relax.

We returned to the Terry Nova where we had one last dinner and Robert kindly shared his Hampden LROK 15 with us that he got as a present from Peppie. Then, unfortunately, it was already time for us to return home.

[Schnubbii]

The spoils

Great vacations deserve memorable souvenirs, so this is what I managed to bring home:

Epic journ ey

All in all I have to say that this was one of the most memorable vacations that I had so far, mostly thanks to Robert who always made sure we had a good time and exciting things to see, despite being sick with pneumonia. Big up for soldiering through! But also due to Toby and Sarka for being so relaxed and uncomplicated travel companions, it was a pleasu re!

Also thanks a lot to Joy Spence and her husband Robert for the very special evening at their house and also making sure that we could visit The Sou rce!

Cheers to Alex for his very thorough tour of Worthy Park distillery and making it possible for us to visit the sugar factory as well!

Of course also big up to Peppie Grant for the great tour at Hampden, the sample of the HGML and also literally going the extra mile(s) f or us!

Thanks to Tamara for her divine c ooking!

Big up also to Kimberley and Robert of NRJ for the hospitality and kindness and the aweso me tour!

And last but not least biggest up to Dwayne and his sick driving skills on Jamaican roads, without those we probably would have never gotten anywhere.

One more thing

I hope you enjoyed reading through this travel report as much as I enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Please remember the destruction Melissa brought to the island. From what I’ve noticed Jamaicans are pretty resourceful people, but if you want to help support the reconstruction of the areas that have been impacted by Melissa (and are still damaged pretty badly) by donating here are some links:

https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/

The American Friends of Jamaica

Thanks!

[ander_s]

Thank you for this incredible travel report, and for giving us more than a peak into the adventures you had

[Rumoldfashioned]

Thanks for doing this report and reminding us about Melissa. It’s very easy to forget when we don’t witness these kinds of weather or destruction. Sounds like you had an awesome time!

[Chris2302]

Danke für die tollen Eindrücke und Bilder das macht wieder Lust sich mehr dem jamaikanischen Rum und der Kultur zu widmen. Vielen Dank

[Mariano56]

Thank you for the great report Moritz, brought back a lot of memories.

Can fully second that this was an absolutely marvelous trip into the heart of Jamaica. Highly recommended to anyone looking to find out more about this unique place.

[Thunderbird]

Klasse Bericht Moritz, vielen Dank dafür

[mto75]

was für ein toller Bericht! Danke dir ganz herzlich

[JamRock]

Wahgwaan Moritiz, An amazing recounting of our very memorable trip. So happy we had a chance to share Jamaica together. Blessings! Respect, Robert

[Schnubbii]

Freut mich, dass euch der Bericht gefällt. Es war wirklich ein ganz toller Urlaub und ich hatte schon überlegt, nächstes Jahr einfach nochmal hin zu fliegen.

Leider scheint irgendetwas mit der Formatierung nicht zu stimmen, es werden beim Editieren immer Leerzeichen eingefügt, die sich auch nur temporär korrigieren lassen. @Oliver Kannst du mir sagen, woran das liegt, habe ich hier etwas nicht beachtet?

[Oliver]

Wow, das ist vermutlich der intensivste Reisebericht den ich bis jetzt gesehen habe. Tausend Dank @Schnubbii für das Teilen dieser einmaligen Erlebnisse!

Bzgl. der Formatierung: Das habe ich leider nicht selbst in der Hand, da das Forum Software “von der Stange” ist (Discourse). Ich spiele aber fast täglich Updates ein, so dass das Problem bestimmt bald behoben ist. Die Open Source Community hinter Discourse ist mega aktiv.

[CalDon]

Thanks @Schnubbii for that excellent journey report !

[Rumoldfashioned]

@Schnubbii can you remember if there was any decent rum to buy at the airport? I have a friend flying out but doesn’t know anything about rum and I don’t want him running about the island as he’s only there for a week…

[Schnubbii]

Definitely RX21163 for 12.900 Jamaican Dollars at Kingston Airport! I bought 3.