Forgive me, I am a bit tired to throw together a bird picture today.

This wonderful rum came in a sample from a while ago. I had it sitting around as I sort of figured that the PM and Enmore stills are the best, and the Savalle column stills are not as interesting. This rum showed me that it can still be quite great.

Note: I could not find online what still it was distilled on, but my sample was labeled as the SV marque, and that’s believable.

Review

Smell

Immediately, it’s rich and woody, with a strong oaky smell. Then it opens up with stone fruit, red wine, and pomegranate.

Taste

The immediate taste that I got was the richness, wood, and tannins, but then I was surprised by a note of pineapple and overripe banana that I typically associate with Jamaican rums. It then turns into chocolate, vanilla, and a lingering fruity note. It finishes bold with a slight bit of fennel, but just a bit. Not as much as rums from Trinidad. The overall profile is slightly sour and quite dry, and very tannic. It’s pretty well balanced, but does not at all remind me of the earthy notes I get from most Demerara rums. I actually first reached for my Appleton 15 year old for comparison, and it was actually remarkably similar. I probably would have guessed, tasting this blind, that it was Appleton 15, and the resemblance is pretty strong, with a very mild funk and bold woody notes, but the Diamond is a bit richer, woodier, and just slightly better than the Appleton. Next I reached for the Samaroli Nicaragua 18 year old, and it way overshoots diamond with the woody notes and tannins, while also having zero fruity funk at all. However, I think, while they are very different, I like them about equally.

Verdict 8/10

This isn’t my favorite rum from Guyana, but it’s really excellent and I really did not expect something so good from a column still. It has a rich and woody profile without being overly oaky and tannic, and it also has a slight funk to keep it interesting. I’m not sure that I would pay over $200 for it, but this rum, along with a similarly aged TDL rum that I will review soon, really put heavy column still rum back on my radar.