Famille Ricci Ovni 11 1990

Famille Ricci Ovni 11 1990 is a long-aged Guyanese rum from the Uitvlugt estate, distilled in 1990 and selected by French bottler Famille Ricci. At thirty-four years old and bottled unsweetened at cask strength, it draws on the heritage stills that once ran at Uitvlugt before consolidation at Diamond, the kind of old Demerara stock independents prize, presented here in full and undiluted.

More than three decades in ex-bourbon oak have built deep, dry power. The nose is woody and nutty with roasted almond and a buttery edge, while the palate brings vanilla, chocolate, gingerbread and nutmeg, and the finish runs peppery with almond and chocolate. At a formidable 61.5% it is unmistakably cask strength, an almond-and-wood heavyweight that calls for water to open up. Unsweetened and venerable, this is old Guyanese rum at its most concentrated, a single estate of real history caught near the peak of its ageing.