Neon Seas Yaeyama Rum

It shines brightest when sipped neat on a warm summer evening.

Nose: Right away, you get warm honey and brown sugar, sweet and inviting without being cloying.

Palate: The sweetness carries through on entry, leading with ripe tropical fruits.

Finish: Medium-to-long, with the savory earthiness lingering alongside a faint sweetness.

Neon Seas Yaeyama Silver Rum is double distilled in a stainless steel pot still using blackstrap molasses sourced exclusively from Ishigaki Island's only sugar mill, a pungent, richly flavored base that gives this rum its signature tropical funk and savory depth that you simply won't find in standard column-distilled white rums.

• Ishigaki Island sits closer to Taiwan than it does to mainland Japan, putting Neon Seas Yaeyama Rum's home practically in a different corner of the world than most people picture when they think "Japanese spirits." The island's latitude puts it squarely in sugarcane-growing territory, making it one of the only places in Japan where rum production even makes geographic sense.
• The blackstrap molasses used in Neon Seas Yaeyama comes from the only sugar mill on Ishigaki Island, meaning every drop of this rum traces back to a single source. That's an almost unheard-of level of ingredient traceability in the spirits world, most rums blend molasses from multiple suppliers and regions without a second thought.