Rum Nation British Guyana 2020 Release 7 years old Cask Strength Rum 59%

By the Demerara river a handful of the world's last wooden stills keep working, as they have done for generations. The wood absorbs, gives back and leaves the rum heavy in a way no copper column can imitate. This is the sort of rum you sit down with and spend an hour on.

The expert's description

Rum Nation British Guyana 2020 Release 7 years Cask Strength Rum 59% is a Demerara Rum from Guyana matured tropically and finished in sherry casks, bottled at cask strength, 59%.

The rum is distilled at Diamond Distillery, which today houses the historic wooden stills rescued from the country's closed distilleries. The bottling draws on spirit from a wooden pot still more than 250 years old and on a lighter rum from a double wooden column, and that pairing is exactly what gives Demerara rum its character of dark wood and dried fruit.

Maturation began in Guyana, where heat presses hard on the cask and evaporation runs high, then continued in cooler conditions in sherry casks. After seven years it was bottled at cask strength with no reduction. This is a 2020 Release, and 2,850 bottles were made worldwide.

Behind the bottling stands Rum Nation, an Italian bottling house founded by Fabio Rossi, which has been buying casks from across the rum world since the late 1990s and releasing them under its own name. British Guyana is one of the house's standing series, and each Release stands alone, because the casks change from year to year.

Tasting notes

Nose

Intense and sharp, with the alcohol out in front from the start. Behind it sit ripe dates, sweet tropical fruit, dark chocolate and a dry waft of cigar boxes and old timber.

Palate

Dry and clean, the sherry cask registering mostly as a restrained wine-like undercurrent. Sultana raisins and fermented fruit carry it, the esters run high, and the whole middle is blanketed in spice. Pepper and cinnamon in quantity, with no sweetness creeping in anywhere.

Finish

Long, warm and peppery. Cinnamon lingers alongside a dry woody bitterness, and 59% makes itself felt the whole way down. A few drops of water draw the fruit forward and soften the close.

Specifications

Name: Rum Nation British Guyana 2020 Release 7 years Cask Strength Rum 59%
Distillery: Diamond Distillery
Bottler: Rum Nation
Region/Country: Guyana
Type: Demerara Rum
Age: 7 years
ABV: 59%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry casks
Distillation method: Wooden pot still and wooden column
Number of bottles: 2,850
Edition: 2020 Release

Flavour profile

Dry · Spiced · Dried fruit · Cask strength · Woody

Investment potential

Medium. Only 2,850 bottles were made of this particular Release, it is bottled at cask strength, and rum from the old wooden stills of Guyana keeps drawing more attention as the number of working wooden stills in the world falls.

Did you know?

The double wooden pot still from Port Mourant is built from greenheart timber and has been running for more than 250 years. As the plantations closed one by one, the stills were dismantled and moved along, and today they stand together at Diamond Distillery, still turning out rum.

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Frequently asked questions about Rum Nation British Guyana 2020 Release 7 years Cask Strength Rum 59%

What does British Guyana on the label mean?

It points to the rum's origin in Guyana in South America. The territory was called British Guiana until independence in 1966, and the rum world still uses the name for the heavy, dark style of Rum from the country around the Demerara river.

How is it best drunk?

Neat with a few drops of water. At 59% the alcohol dominates the nose at first, and water opens both the fruit and the spice. Use a glass that gathers the aroma, and give the rum five minutes before the first sip.

Is it worth investing in?

Yes, there is reasonable ground for it. The release is limited to 2,850 bottles, it is a 2020 Release that will not be repeated, and spirit from the old wooden stills of Guyana grows more sought after as more of the world's wooden stills disappear.

What makes wooden stills different from copper ones?

Wood produces a heavier, oilier distillate. Copper strips sulphur and harsh compounds out of the spirit, while wood lets more heavy aroma compounds through. That is why Demerara rum tastes of dark wood, liquorice and dried fruit rather than bright fruit.

What does tropical maturation do to the flavour?

It speeds everything up. Guyana stays hot year round, the cask never rests, and evaporation runs many times higher than in northern warehouses. Seven tropical years therefore give more colour, more wood and more concentration than seven years in a cool cellar.

Does it work with food or cigars?

Yes, especially with something dark and bitter. The dryness and pepper spice stand up to high cocoa dark chocolate, and the cigar box note on the nose makes it an obvious companion to a cigar after dinner.

Who are Rum Nation?

An Italian bottling house founded by Fabio Rossi. The house buys casks from distilleries across the Caribbean and Latin America and releases them in series named after the country of origin, and British Guyana is one of the longest running of those.