Rethinking Rum: Experimental Bottles in Our June Auction

20 June 2025 Rebecca Marshall 4 min read

This month’s auction showcases an intriguing line-up of experimental rums that push the category into exciting new territory. From cask-finished Jamaican funk to aged Clairin and a cult Hampden marque rarely seen in standalone bottlings.

We think these bottles offer bold new perspectives on some of the rum world’s most exciting styles. Whether you’re looking for something different to open and share, or hoping to deepen your appreciation of what rum can be, this is a selection that’s full of flavour, thought-provoking, and a clear sign of the innovation driving the category right now.

Vieux Sajous Clairin – Haiti’s Traditional Spirit, Reimagined

In Haiti, Clairin is a national icon. Known as the “rum of the people”, it's a national spirit produced across the island since sugarcane was first cultivated. Distilled at over 500 small, often family-run distilleries across the island, it's known for its raw, expressive style and its close connection to terroir. Made from wild yeasts, fresh sugarcane juice, and traditional techniques, it shares similarities with rhum agricole, though made with less refinement.

What makes the Velier-aged Clairin series so exciting is that it marks a bold new chapter for this traditional spirit, showcasing it matured in cask for the first time (a radical shift for a spirit that’s typically bottled straight off the still).

We’re delighted to feature four aged Clairin expressions in our June auction, all from the respected producer Michel Sajous, one of the leading figures in Haiti’s traditional rum-making scene. All produced at the Chelo distillery from the Cristalline variety of sugarcane, these expressions represent a significant evolution for a spirit long defined by its raw, unaged form.

Each bottle in this line-up gives us a unique and fascinating perspective on how cask maturation influences Clairin’s wild, naturally funky base spirit - from ageing in ex-Caroni barrels to sherry casks from Lustau. Rich in terroir and tradition, these are rare and expressive rums that capture both the heritage of Haitian distilling and an exciting new direction for the category.

Worthy Park Cask-Finished Rums – Jamaican Funk Meets European Oak

Few distilleries wear their character as proudly as Worthy Park. Loved for their intensely flavourful rums, it’s their high ester content (the compounds behind those bold, fruity, often funky notes) that makes them so sought-after by rum fans. Worthy Park is one of Jamaica’s most respected distilleries in this style, known for producing high-ester spirits full of personality.

June's auction features two examples from Worthy Park’s The Cask Selection Series, a range of small batch rums each given a unique secondary maturation from cask types such as Madeira, Oloroso sherry, Marsala, port, and virgin oak.

Worthy Park 2013 Madeira Cask Selection Series #4

Worthy Park 2013 Sherry Cask Selection Series #3

As well as these, The Worthy Park WPE 2021 S.B.S Experimental Cask Box Set is also available this month, and offers an exploration of their spirit in oak using virgin casks from four different countries (American, Danish, French and Spanish). It’s an adventurous deep dive into how funk meets wood, and how different oak origins influence Jamaica’s boldest spirit style. With the rare chance to compare them side by side, it's an exciting opportunity for Jamaican rum lovers curious about the power of the cask.

Hampden C<>H – A Marque for the Funk Enthusiast

With ester levels between 1300–1400 gr/HLPA, this is one of the distillery’s most powerful and elusive styles - traditionally used for blending in export markets. The “C” stands for Continental, a nod to its intended destination. It’s incredibly rare to find this marque bottled on its own, making these two expressions – from Habitation Velier and S.B.S – exciting finds in our June auction.

Hampden C<>H 2010 Habitation Velier 10 Year Old

Hampden C<>H 2020 S.B.S

Offering an intense hit of Jamaican funk with that unmistakable Hampden punch, these rums are an essential experience for funky style rum fans and anyone curious about the extremes of high-ester rum production.

This is an exciting time for rum experimentation and changing trends in the industry, from producers and bottlers taking creative risks to expanding the range of flavour and style available to drinkers.

Bottles like these are not only enjoyable but they are historical markers of rum’s ongoing evolution.

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Rethinking Rum: Experimental Bottles in Our June Auction