Review of Nobilis Rum Guyana Uitvlugt 1998 ICB/U 25 yo - by Romblogger Sylvia H. Holm

Blog post about the independent rum company Nobilis Rom. Our rum blogger Sylvia H. Holm has tasted the new bottling

Posts by Sylvia H. Holm

The Danish independent bottler Nobilis Rum has released a number of rums over the years, and here is one of the latest additions to their 35th release. This time the trip is once again to Guyana.

The rum is, as mentioned, from Guyana, more specifically from the closed Uitvlugt distillery, which in its last handful of years of production, housed over the four most well-known apparatus from Guyana; Enmore, Versailles, Port Mourant and the Savalle column apparatus. Then after the closure of Uitvlugt just before the turn of the millennium, all of these stills were thankfully preserved and moved to the Diamond distillery when Demerara Distillers Limited consolidated everything into one location. However, as the title suggests, the rum here is from the late 90's when Uitvlugt was still active, and even more exciting for a Savalle nerd like me, this is the exact apparatus the rum comes from.

We're talking about a 1998 vintage Savalle rum, its marque is ICB/U, one that I sometimes think might be overlooked a bit. Granted, it doesn't have the same legendary status as so many other rums produced on this apparatus, but it is a very solid, tasty and inviting rum. It's bottled at a whopping 25 years old, an ABV of 58.9% and as a side note, this rum arrived in the UK very shortly after distillation.

Here it was placed in a used rum barrel until 2001, where it was then moved to another used rum barrel, where it then rested for the remaining time before being bottled in 2023, with a yield of 174 bottles. At first glance, the story does not say anything about what rum has been in the barrel before this, but it has not been anything heavy that has left a big mark. ICB/U is rum at the light end of the spectrum, and it probably wouldn't need much time in a slightly more ester-heavy rum cask from, say, Jamaica, before it would make a clear mark.

The nose, palette and aftertaste

The nose offers fairly classic ICB/U notes, a pleasant sugar-cherry sweetness and light molasses, undoubtedly a light and delicate distillate, as expected. It is perhaps not as fresh as other ICB/U I've tasted over the years, but it offers a little more richness, a little more body. There's a hint of citrus and melon, perhaps a faint perfumed touch that really suits it. A really pleasant and polished nose that is nicely rounded, light, delicate and inviting.

The palette starts off gently, a good pleasant sweetness and creamy texture, notes of molasses followed by some tropical fruits, melon, possibly a hint of honeydew melon, a little more specific. There is a gentle and pleasant cask character, which makes sense with the good age of the rum, but it is modest, very well integrated and gives a slight spicy pull.

The finish offers the slightly spicy notes of the barrel, a nice creamy sweetness that slowly slides into notes of dried fruit.

Conclusion

This is without a doubt a recommendable rum, it's not the most complex in the world, but you get all the goodness that ICB/U offers. A super pleasant, appropriately flavorful and very inviting rum that's great to drink without forcing you and demanding your attention due to great complexities and so on. If you're into Guyana in all styles, you'll probably feel comfortable, and if you're generally just into good column distilled rum, it's almost a must, and finally, if you're a Savalle nerd like me, it's just a pleasure to taste something with that age, and something that is more or less just as it should be. You can only enjoy a glass like this. Cheers.

See all our bottlings from Nobilis Rom here

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