Planteray Rum announced the release of Planteray Hogo Monsta, a bold high-ester rum from the legendary Stade’s West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados. Hogo Monsta is considered one of the world’s heaviest rums to be used to enhance cocktails, not a sipping rum. It is sold in 200ml bottles for this reason, at 56.8% ABV (SRP $55.00).

This is not merely “high-ester” by conventional standards. Hogo Monsta delivers an extraordinary 2,029 grams per hectoliter of aromatic compounds, bottled at 56.6% ABV. Meticulously distilled by the Planteray and Stade’s teams, it is the result of extended fermentation, precise distillation cuts, and a deliberately bold vision.

Hogo Monsta was never designed for casual drinking. Its potency makes it unsuitable for volume consumption or unmeasured pours. Instead, it is a professional tool – a concentrated flavor catalyst created for skilled hands. Just a few drops can transform a Mai Tai, elevate a blend, or unlock new territory in a Daiquiri.

In just a few measured drops, it erupts with overripe banana, pineapple, and mango, layered with varnish, brine, spice, and an unmistakable tropical funk. The mouthfeel is dense and oily, carrying a long, unrestrained finish. These aromas and flavors are what today’s rum connoisseurs often call “rum funk,” or hogo – an Anglicization of the French term haut goût (“high taste”), once used by rum traders to describe spirits of formidable pungency.

 Planteray Hogo Monsta Rum is available in select U.S. markets with a suggested retail price of $55.00 (56.6% ABV, 200 ml). Only 5,000 bottles will be released across the USA, UK, France, Barbados, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and Germany.