I feel like a bit of a douche for not reviewing this rum earlier, since I’ve had the sample sitting on my shelf for months. Unfortunately, I put another bottle in front of it, and with me having to switch jobs I was kind of preoccupied with a lot of things that weren’t reviewing new hooch that came in.

Anyway, I have to thank Best of Wines / Best of Whiskies / Nils van Rijn for sending me this sample of one of their older rum bottlings under the The Duchess label. They’ve been at it for several years, and so far I’ve not had one that I didn’t like. With the age on this one, I do feel like we’re in for a treat once again!

I know virtually nothing about rum distilleries and provenance and style between different countries, but for those it might concern, this rum was distilled in a Versailles Pot Still, which is a wooden still! I know of only one distillery that used to use wooden still, Lost Spirits Distillery in California, and that’s not exactly good advertisement for it.

Sniff:
A little sulfury on the nose, with burnt sugar, sugar cane and shoe polish. Some baked fruits with a touch of bitterness.

Sip:
The palate is rather gentle, for the ABV, although there is some chili-pepper-like heat after a few seconds. The cane goes more towards corn and grass, but still with burnt sugar and golden syrup.

Swallow:
The finish too has some green fruit and grass flavors. It’s quite interesting but I can’t pin down what it tastes like. There’s shoe polish, sugar cane and caramel, but there’s something else too.

A very difficult rum, but very interesting too. Very lovely, but I’m a bit annoyed I can’t pin down that one flavor that is so prominent. The wooden still might be the culprit at putting in that one flavor, but luckily it’s light years better than that Lost Spirits stuff!

89/100

Enmore, 18yo, 1990, Guyana, Versailles Pot Still, Cask 49, 54.9%. Available at Best of Wines for € 245