Skeldon El Dorado Rare Collection SWR 2000

Skeldon is the unicorn among Demerara marques, an estate on the Corentyne whose own stills were lost long ago, its SWR mark kept alive only by recreation on the surviving heritage stills now at Diamond. Genuine Skeldon is among the most prized names in rum, which makes this Rare Collection single vintage from 2000 a rare chance to meet the marque, distilled on a column still and aged entirely in the Guyanese tropics across eighteen years.

Bottled unsweetened at a full 58.3%, this is dark, intense Demerara: dark chocolate, coffee, roasted nuts and a deep oak frame, rich and concentrated yet held in balance rather than running hot. Unlike the softer, sweetened El Dorado core range, nothing is added to round it off, so the depth is all spirit and cask. For experienced drinkers who love dense, dessert-dark Demerara, it is a powerful, characterful pour and a piece of vanishing rum history.