Distilia Diamond The Golden Age of Piracy Captain Benjamin Hornigold 1996

Distilia bottled this 26 year single cask from the Diamond estate, whose Savalle column still gives Guyana's cleanest and most approachable spirit, the toffee and chocolate end of the Demerara spectrum rather than the heavy wooden pot still funk. Unsweetened and held at a measured 50.2 percent, it favours elegance over weight.

Matured in ex bourbon, the molasses distillate shows vanilla, honey and a faint glue note on the nose, then a palate of coffee, vanilla, milk chocolate and wood, closing minty with biscuit, dark chocolate and baking spice. The dried fruit and caramel sweetness comes from long ageing rather than any dosage, the oak soft and well integrated. This is a relaxed, dessert leaning pour for drinkers who enjoy gentler old Demerara and Diamond's smoother side, a refined sipper that rewards a little time in the glass.