The Wild Parrot Hidden Spirits (LMDW) 1999

The Wild Parrot, in the Hidden Spirits line for La Maison du Whisky, bottled this 1999 Demerara as a single port cask, a 23 Year Old at 51.5% carrying the herbal, anise-driven Port Mourant character. PM is the heaviest of the Guyanese marques, distilled on the double wooden greenheart pot still, and this unsweetened release shows its drier, more austere side after long continental ageing.

The nose is restrained and savoury with milk chocolate, nuts and a green, grassy note, and the palate brings dried fruit, prunes and grass with a saline edge. The finish is dry and faintly bitter, prunes and salt trailing into woody, herbal notes of anise and liquorice with a thread of tropical fruit. The port cask sits quietly behind the still character rather than reshaping it. This is a lean, woody Demerara with a herbal backbone, more contemplative than crowd-pleasing. For drinkers who enjoy the dry, herbal continental PM style, the extra age and intensity make it worth seeking out.