A popular and once-ubiquitous Jamaican rum has become mysteriously scarce this year. And with the shortage of Chartreuse fresh in everyone’s minds, it’s natural to wonder if this current dip in supply may be permanent.
Wray & Nephew Overproof is practically synonymous with overproof rum. It’s by far one of Jamaica’s most popular rums, and can be found behind most bars in the U.S. It’s a heavyweight, both high-proof at 63 percent ABV and loaded with bold, funky flavors and aromas known in the rum world as hogo. It’s got a powerful profile, which is why Wray & Nephew tends to be used in small and potent portions.
“A strong note of banana and other tropical fruits paired with the high-proof, untamed spirit adds an edge to a cocktail that is hard to replicate,” explains Adam Sandroni, bar director at Santa Barbara, Calif., cocktail bar Test Pilot, of the expression. Thanks to that edge, it’s not a bottle that one tends to run through quickly, but it remains a staple for many bartenders and home mixologists who enjoy whipping up tropical cocktails. And when it’s not available, people notice.
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Here’s everything we know about the shortage.
The Disappearing Act
Whispers of a Wray & Nephew shortage began circulating online this past spring. In a March 25 Reddit post on the r/rum subreddit, one user asked the community if anyone else has had trouble finding the brand on shelves. Users quickly chimed in from every corner of the U.S. to share that they, too, hadn’t been able to find Wray & Nephew Overproof in their local stores.
“Due to a combination of unexpected weather conditions in Jamaica, some equipment challenges, and strict environmental regulatory requirements, we have not been able to distill as much Wray & Nephew White Overproof rum as planned since December 2023.”
“I was going to make a blind tasting video,” Arminder Randhawa, content creator and host of The Rum Revival, told VinePair. “But then I realized, oh, man, it’s really tough to find a bottle. All my local shops were all out of stock.”
Over the next few months, the rum’s increasing scarcity became more and more apparent. Various states’ Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) inventories also reflect either dwindling stocks or the complete absence of the rum over the course of this year. Speculation as to why this affordable commodity rum was becoming as rare as Pappy Van Winkle began to spread, but there was still no definitive explanation.
Down Dunder
Rum aficionados began to get some answers in June when an article in Jamaican news outlet Gleaner claimed the shortage was being caused by a drop in production due to heavy rainfall. This was confirmed in a statement to VinePair by J. Wray & Nephew Limited.
“Due to a combination of unexpected weather conditions in Jamaica, some equipment challenges, and strict environmental regulatory requirements, we have not been able to distill as much Wray & Nephew White Overproof rum as planned since December 2023. This in turn, has led to our current inability to supply, in full, our global volumes during this quarter. We are working assiduously to correct the problem and we expect to return to our full supply capacity by Q4, 2024.”
Unanticipated high rainfall can affect rum production in multiple ways. It can disrupt sugar cane cultivation, slow down the transportation of materials, and damage distillery equipment. In this case, the rain caused an issue specific to Jamaican rum producers — it prevented the distillery from legally disposing of its waste, also known as dunder.
“The Campari Group recently announced the installation of a Dunder Treatment plant which will allow us to meet the increasing demand for our rum brands while simultaneously mitigating the environmental impact of our operations.”
“Big picture, this is an ongoing problem,” says Matt Pietrek, co-author of award-winning book Modern Caribbean Rum. “Distilling [rum] creates an incredible amount of waste.”
Dunder is the acidic stillage left over after all the alcohol has been cooked out during molasses-based fermentation. This waste is typically stored in outdoor ponds or pits until it can be processed and released back into the environment without causing harm. With excessive rainfall, though, these ponds can fill too quickly, leaving the distillery with nowhere to store its dunder. Improper processing of dunder can have disastrous effects on the environment, and because of this, the way distilleries dispose of their dunder is closely monitored and regulated by the Jamaican government. If the dunder pits are full and processing is delayed, distilleries have one option.
“They basically have to slow down or stop production because they have nowhere to put this stuff,” Pietrek says.
Return of the Rum
So, will Wray & Nephew find itself in the same rarefied company as allocated bottles like Blanton’s?
Since the rum isn’t barrel-aged, it shouldn’t take long for bottles to make their way back to liquor store shelves once the distillery is back to operating at full capacity. And J. Wray & Nephew’s parent company, Campari, is already working on a long-term solution.
“The Campari Group recently announced the installation of a Dunder Treatment plant which will allow us to meet the increasing demand for our rum brands while simultaneously mitigating the environmental impact of our operations,” J. Wray & Nephew Limited said in its statement. “The investment will also make us less susceptible to weather conditions.”
Thankfully, for those who can’t get enough of the funk, there are plenty of other high-octane, unaged Jamaican rums to try in the meantime.
“We all love and cherish Wray & Nephew, but we should use this as an opportunity to support Jamaica’s smaller distilleries,” Pietrek says. Who knows? A newfound alternative might earn a permanent spot on your back bar, too.
