Diamond Cana de Emperador 16 yrs 2001

Cana de Emperador 16 is a 2001 Diamond Demerara, a sixteen year old Guyanese rum bottled at 40 percent. It draws on Diamond distillery stock and is matured in ex-bourbon wood, sitting between the easy house blends and the fuller independent single casks in style.

The nose offers cinnamon, young wood, vanilla and toffee, with the palate moving to burnt sugar, oak, leather and caramel, then a bitter, woody finish with tobacco and burnt sugar. Drinkers note that, despite the modest strength, it carries real depth and delivers more flavour than 40 percent might suggest, with a bitter edge that settles after a moment in the glass. It is a darker, wood-and-leather Demerara that rewards a little patience, showing that a gentler proof need not mean a thin or hollow Guyanese rum.