Silver Seal Uitvlugt Demerara 1998

Silver Seal bottled this single cask of Uitvlugt from the 1998 vintage, twenty-six years old and labelled New Vibrations. Uitvlugt ran a Savalle column, the refined, fruity and lightly spiced end of the Guyanese spectrum, and this leans into that cleaner, more elegant character rather than heavy pot funk.

Molasses based and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it is certified unsweetened and balanced in build. The nose is fruity and composed with pear, peach, dried fruit and citrus, the palate adds poached fruits, light tobacco, roast wood and dry spice, and vanilla and aniseed thread through a medium, oily finish. The wood never overpowers, leaving room for the spirit. At 51.6 percent it is a no nonsense, well judged Demerara, best enjoyed neat by anyone wanting an aged Guyanese rum that stays refined and drinkable.