Distilia Uitvlugt The Last Cask Artist (Yu Chuan) 1990

Distilia released this 32 year Uitvlugt in its Last Cask Artist series, drawn off the Port Mourant double wooden greenheart pot still, the heaviest marque in Guyana, then matured with both port and whisky casks. The smoky whisky cask gives the spirit an unusual, peat tinged edge over its already dark base.

The molasses distillate shows tobacco, dried fruit, leather and prune on the nose, then a smoky, woody palate of dried fruit and barrel, closing smoky, bitter and burnt. The Port Mourant depth, all leather and dark fruit, meets a charred, almost peated cask influence that pulls it toward whisky territory while keeping the rum's identity. This is a deep, brooding pour for drinkers who enjoy peated or sherried single malt and want to explore old Demerara, a bottle that bridges both worlds and rewards slow, attentive sipping at 51.3 percent.