A great rum cocktail goes with everything, but a discerning foodie knows that certain dishes can accentuate its great flavour.

The 2022 staging of the Jamaica Food and Drink’s ‘Pork Palooza’ with the theme being ‘Pork, Rum, and Reggae’ is a  unique opportunity for foodies to sample a sip-worthy rum like the distinct Worthy Park Select alongside Jamaica’s best Copperwood pork dishes served by the island’s finest gourmet chefs.

As Jamaica’s only single-estate rum producer, Worthy Park Select is excited to be one of the sponsors of the 2022 edition of the Jamaica Food and Drink’s ‘Pork Palooza’, a gastronomic experience, from 7 pm to 10 pm on October 26 at Hope Gardens in St Andrew.

AMAZING TASTE

The well-anticipated gourmet event will offer a range of pork dishes, including sizzling, crispy jerk pork–a Jamaican staple.

Jerk pork, which originated with the Maroons who seasoned wild pigs to preserve and flavour the meat and then slowly cooked it underground, is one of Jamaica’s favourite dishes and pairs fantastically with the medium-bodied Worthy Park Select rum.

Worthy Park Select is a smooth, mellow, sweet dark rum with flavours of spices, vanilla, a hint of cinnamon, tropical fruit, banana, and orange, and it tastes amazing with dishes flavoured with traditional Jamaican spices like scotch bonnet, thyme, and pimento – ingredients typically used to season authentic Jamaican pork dishes.

Tamika West, marketing manager at Worthy Park Estate, invited foodies to “take some time to enjoy the distinctive flavour of Worthy Park Select with the meaty, rich pork dishes”.

Said West: “You’ll discover, unsurprisingly, how good it tastes with a slow-cooked, flavour-packed Jamaican jerk pork served with an authentic scotch bonnet sauce.” 

Worthy Park Select, which came on the scene in 2021, is made from the estate’s finest sugarcane that has been matured, distilled, bottled, and blended. Mixologists will serve at the specially designed 360-degree main bar the brand’s signature cocktails: Pineapple Park and Fancy Farmer.

ISLAND’S OLDEST DISTILLERY

West added: “We’re so proud to be the official rum sponsor for this world-class culinary event. So much so, that we’re giving away tickets on our social media platforms and our mixologists will be creating a special rum cocktail with fellow event sponsor Ocean Spray, to be unveiled on the night of Pork Palooza.”

Worthy Park Estate, the island’s oldest distillery with a history spanning over 350 years since its founding in 1670, uses the double retort pot-still distillation method to create a heavy-bodied rum. By creating exquisite spirits, Worthy Park Estate has become a favourite both locally and internationally, winning numerous awards every year for the past decade.