Uitvlugt Rum Sponge 1990

Uitvlugt Rum Sponge 1990 comes from one of Guyana's lost estates, distilled at Uitvlugt on its refined Savalle column before the operation moved to Diamond, and bottled three decades on by Decadent Drinks under their Rum Sponge label. As a single cask from 1990 it captures the cleaner, fruitier end of the Demerara spectrum rather than the heavy Port Mourant style, the kind of closed-estate spirit that cannot be made fresh again.

The rum spent its life in ex-bourbon wood and arrives unsweetened at 55%. Three decades of ageing have built a layered nose of fresh herbs, pineapple and old timber, while the palate is oily and warm with citrus and dried fruit threaded through. The finish turns roasted and spiced, cardamom and anise lingering against the oak. This is full-proof, single-marque Demerara left to speak for itself, with no sugar to round off the years of cask influence.