2003 Masam SRL Port Mourant 18 Year Old Cask Strength Guyanese Rum (700ml)

Whichever way you spell it ('Morant' or 'Mourant'), anything this old from Guyana's legendary still is considered special, all the more so given that Diamond Estate is the only remaining rum producer in Guyana. Originally installed at the Port Mourant Estate (established in 1732), the nationalisation of the sugar industry lead to a centralisation of the various stills located around the country. It was first transferred to Uitvlugt, then in 2000 to its current home at Diamond Distillery along with all the other heritage stills and a modern multi-column set up. Built using Greenheart wood, a native to Guyana and mostly reserved for boat-building due to its ability to resist moisture, the wood is also well suited to distilling, stripping spirits of sulphites in the same manner that copper does. The Port Mourant and the Versailles single wooden pot still are the last of their kind in operation. The configuration of the former produces a typically heavy bodied and oily distillate, generally credited as being one of the definitive components in the old British Royal Navy blend. Nowadays, it's what makes El Dorado's brilliant 15 Year Old so tasty. Compared to the official cask strength release under El Dorado's 'single stills' label, the price of this considerably older Masam selection is very reasonable. Drawn from cask No. 26 and bottled at 53.5% Alc./Vol., 259 bottles are available globally. Nothing has been added nor has the liquid undergone chill filtration.

Notes from the importers... Nose: Tinned pineapple rings, damp grass, sugar cane juice, school bag fruit mix. Palate: Fermented fruit, graphite pencils, Chlorine, pear tarte tatin, pineapples. Finish: Custard finger bun.