Velier Enmore & Port Mourant EHPM 1998

Velier, the Genoa house that built the modern reputation of collectible Demerara under Luca Gargano, married spirit from two heritage stills here, the wooden Coffey of Enmore and the double wooden pot still of Port Mourant, both greenheart stills with no modern equal. Tropically aged at origin in Guyana, unsweetened and at natural 62.2 percent, it carries the depth and oily weight that fast Caribbean maturation brings.

The molasses spirit shows raisin, coffee, tobacco and licorice on the nose, then a palate of dark dried fruit, toffee, coffee and roasted oak, closing very long on clove and anise. The Port Mourant lends licorice and body while the Enmore brings elegance and cedar, and at sixteen tropical years the concentration runs deep. This is a powerful, contemplative pour for drinkers serious about big Velier Demeraras, rewarding patience in the glass with layer after layer.