Diamond Kill Devil (The Whisky Barrel) 2004

Diamond Kill Devil 2004 from The Whisky Barrel is a single cask Demerara from the Diamond distillery, selected by the Scottish whisky house Hunter Laing for its Kill Devil line and matured in whisky casks. Bottled unsweetened, cask strength and non-chill-filtered in the house style, this is a pot still Guyana rum left raw and lively for the drinker to work with.

At 61.8% it needs a little time, and it rewards patience by changing in the glass. The opening is dominated by green apple with light tea notes, fresher than the colour suggests, before a spicy core builds with allspice, black pepper and vanilla running into a long, peppery finish. There are faint honey, floral and mint notes underneath the spice. This is a beautiful, shifting Demerara that moves minute by minute, a full-proof single cask for drinkers happy to follow it as it opens rather than expecting a fixed, settled profile.