Diamond Rum Festa Fukuoka 2004

Diamond Rum Festa Fukuoka 2004 is a Guyanese distillery bottling released for a rum festival in Japan, drawn from Diamond stock and very likely a blend that includes the heavier Versailles wooden pot still alongside column spirit, judging by its depth. At fifteen years it shows the richer, more gourmand side of Demerara rather than the lighter Savalle profile alone.

Matured in ex-bourbon wood and bottled at 55%, the rum is deep and layered. The nose is roasted with oak, walnut and molasses, while the palate turns to cola, blackcurrant and a cooling mint note over burnt caramel and cooked dark fruit. The finish brings spicy allspice, blackcurrant and prunes. There is a real rancio richness here, oily tobacco and leather woven through the dark fruit. This is a fine, full-flavoured Demerara, the kind of festival bottling that rewards an unhurried evening with the glass.