Pellegrini Diamond Zvenga Place 1998

Pellegrini Diamond Zvenga Place 1998 is a vintage Demerara from the Diamond distillery, bottled by the Italian house Pellegrini and matured in sherry casks. The Diamond name points to the metal Savalle column, the lightest and cleanest of the Guyanese stills, here given a darker, fruitier turn by its time in sherry wood.

Bottled at 46%, the rum is unusually fruity for a vintage Diamond. The nose is rich with sherry, raisin, dried fruit and milk chocolate, while the palate brings sherry, barrel wood, cocoa and more raisin. The finish carries oak, cocoa and a lingering sherry note. The sherry cask is very dominant after thirteen years and gives the rum a generous, fruit-and-chocolate character that sets it apart from the cleaner, drier Diamond bottlings. This is a warming, sherried Demerara that could carry a touch more strength but delivers plenty of flavour as it stands.