Famille Ricci Zodiac Poisson MDL 2012

Famille Ricci bottled this Zodiac Poisson from a 2012 Guyanese column still distillate, marque MDL, caught at twelve years and a high 62.8%. It sits at the younger, more energetic end of Demerara, a column rum that trades the deep oily weight of the wooden pot stills for brightness and lift.

Matured in ex-bourbon and bottled at full proof, it opens floral, earthy and herbal with a honeyed thread, then turns nutty and woody on the palate with vanilla and a vegetal edge, before a dry, floral finish marked by camphor and wood. Citrus and exotic fruit appear with a little time and water, the high strength giving it real drive. This is a vibrant, characterful Guyanese rum rather than a dark, mellow sipper, suited to drinkers who like their Demerara lively and high-proof in the manner of younger Uitvlugts.