Wray & Nephew White Overproof Shortage - What's the Story?

I’ve seen a topic come up repeatedly in the enthusiast community over the last few months:

Is there a shortage of Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum? If so, why?

It’s not the first time a popular rum expression has seemingly vanished from store shelves. When this happens, speculation about why the product is no longer available mutates into all sorts of hypotheses, some more plausible than others. Sure, a producer might discontinue a product without a formal announcement. However, there are plenty of less drastic reasons why a rum might (temporarily) drop from sight. What follows is a primer on why certain products unexpectedly experience shortages, followed by a fact-based examination of the current Wray & Nephew White Overproof situation.

First, let’s consider some common reasons why products could disappear from shelves without being discontinued:

Glass bottle shortages. If producers can only get a fraction of the bottles they need, they usually focus on the bottles needed for their premium export rums rather than their less expensive expressions. This was common during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Sea transport demand: Ocean carriers experience peaks and valleys in demand; these swings are reflected in their pricing. The cost to ship X pallets of product Y to location Z can quickly change.

Sea transport logistics issues. Sometimes, shipments are waylaid due to unforeseen circumstances. Shipping containers fall off boats. A big wave can break bottles in their cases. A ship might arrive at its destination but can’t unload quickly due to strikes, equipment failures, or too many ships waiting to unload. This was also common during COVID-19.

Importer Issues. While big brands usually have a US subsidiary doing their imports, most brands rely on an independent importer to order and receive the brand’s products. Importers often run into issues, financial or otherwise, which hold up a brand’s products from coming into the country.

US State distributor issues. Generally speaking, a brand can only be distributed by a single distributor in each state. Even worse, that distributor might be a state-controlled liquor store monopoly, which are notorious for ignoring small brands. Big brands (mostly) have well-oiled partnerships with their importers and distributors. However, brands that don’t are at the mercy of their distributor in each state. Brand frustration with their distributor is an ever-present undercurrent in the industry, and switching distributors can be extremely time-consuming and expensive. This is why products may disappear from shelves in one state while remaining readily available elsewhere.

Rain & Dunder

While the above reasons may explain a brand shortage, the problem sometimes really does lie with the producer. A story titled Rain blamed for rum sales slide in the June 16^th, 2024, Jamaica Gleaner reads in part:

CONSTANT RAIN since last fall has slowed down rum production at J. Wray & Nephew Limited….

 “We have not been able to distill as much rum as planned since October 2023, which has led to an ongoing inability to meet, in full, the market demand,”…

It was due to “unprecedented” rainfall, along with equipment challenges and adherence to regulatory rules…. crops, such as sugar cane, coffee, and cocoa, suffered a decline in production due to the persistent rains…

The company continues its multimillion-dollar venture to improve its impact on the environment. It plans to build a facility to treat its dunder before it re-enters the environment. Dunder is the liquefied waste created during the rum-distilling process.

“We have invested US$65 million in increasing our distillation capacity by undertaking the installation of a state-of-the-art dunder treatment plant…

Nothing from this story surprises me. Let’s drill into the key reasons cited for reduced output.

Rainfall impacting the sugarcane harvest. Other than Worthy Park, all Jamaican distilleries rely on imported molasses to augment Jamaican-made molasses. Distilleries must plan their molasses needs in advance, including where it will be sourced from. A bad year for local sugarcane could introduce some bumps in the road. However, the large majority of Jamaica’s rum uses imported molasses, and it’s unclear how much a local molasses shortage might dampen JWN’s production. (JWN is a common abbreviation for J. Wray & Nephew.)

Equipment challenges. The article didn’t state the specifics, but equipment challenges are quite common in the industry.

Environmental regulations/dunder treatment. Distillation creates an enormous amount of waste liquid (“dunder”) that’s harmful to the environment unless properly processed. A common processing method is to dilute the dunder and use it as fertilizer on cane fields. This is known as fertigation.

Jamaica takes its environmental regulations and monitoring seriously. In the not-so-distant past, both Appleton Estate and Long Pond have paused distillation for prolonged periods when dunder production outpaced their ability to process it. Among the regulations is a limit on when fertigation can be used. I’m told that if the soil’s water content is too high, fertigation isn’t allowed. This causes dunder to accumulate in storage ponds and eventually fill them. Once this happens, distillation stops as there’s no more room for additional dunder. Many Caribbean distilleries could distill more rum than they currently do if it weren’t for waste processing limitations.

Well-informed sources tell me that JWN’s New Yarmouth distillery performs dunder processing for itself and the Appleton distillery. A 2024 Gleaner article states, “JWN will spend US$65 million for the construction of dunder treatment plant at its New Yarmouth Distillery in Clarendon, Jamaica.”

Waste processing issues aren’t unique to Jamaica. Other Caribbean producers, including Angostura, have had similar issues and have made similar investments in waste processing to keep their stills operating.

Of the three issues noted by JWN, I strongly suspect that dunder processing capacity is the main reason for JWN’s reduced rum production.

Read more about J. Wray & Nephew and its Appleton and New Yarmouth distilleries in chapter 20 of Modern Caribbean Rum.

What Does This Mean?

Since we know why JWN’s production volumes have dropped, we can speculate about which products are most affected. The company has substantial aging stocks, so production shortfalls won’t immediately affect the company’s aged products. However, unaged products can be in a bottle within two or three weeks after distillation. JWN’s White Overproof rum sells very well, so it’s not hard to imagine that White Overproof Rum reserves might dwindle quickly.

As a final note, the above is nothing more than informed speculation on my part. However, it’s based on both JWN’s public statements and many years of observing the rum industry.

Got another perspective? Share it in the comments.