The Whisky Jury Enmore 1988

The Whisky Jury, a whisky-house bottler, selected this 1988 as a single cask. The data points to Enmore and the Versailles pot still character together, the robust, tannic, raw-wood end of the Guyanese range, and at nearly thirty-three years it has reached real depth while staying eminently drinkable.

Matured in ex-bourbon and bottled unsweetened at 48.9%, it shows prune, wood, raisin and leather on the nose, then coffee, liquorice, leather and prune on the palate, finishing on roasted notes, leather, wood and dried fruit. The lower strength keeps the alcohol seamless and the heavily toasted oak balanced against the dark fruit, with just a hint of natural sweetness cushioning the wood. This is a contemplative evening rum, an old Demerara whose age shows clearly without ever tipping into harshness.