Rock & Rhum Diamond Diamond Full Proof PM 2013

Rock and Rhum bottled this 2013 Demerara as a single cask at full proof, a 10 Year Old carrying the Port Mourant marque from the Diamond distillery. The double wooden pot still gives PM its weight and oily character, though at 63.5% and a relatively young age this release shows the brighter, fresher face of the marque rather than its darkest, tarriest side.

The nose runs citrus and fruit schnapps with butterscotch and a leathery edge, and the palate follows with yellow fruit, green apple and a citrus lift, the alcohol sitting forward and asking for a drop of water. The finish turns nutty and dry with dried fruit and vanilla from the ex-bourbon wood. This is a more reductive, lighter-bodied take than a heavily oaked old PM, the kind of youthful continental Demerara that rewards slow sipping and a little patience in the glass. Anyone who enjoys the herbal, fruit-forward end of Port Mourant will find plenty to explore.