Velier Diamond & Versailles SVSG 1996

This is a Velier bottling, the defining name in collectible rum under Luca Gargano, pairing Diamond and Versailles distillate from 1996 with 18 years of age. The blend marries the cleaner toffee-and-glue character of the Diamond Savalle still with the bright, tannic wood of the single wooden pot Versailles, giving a rum that works on two registers at once.

Matured in ex-bourbon and, in the Velier manner, aged tropically at full strength, it pours dark and dense. Expect the signature Diamond glue note, roasted coffee, licorice, prune and tobacco over polished old oak, with sweetness held well back and the texture turning oily at 57.9%. There is little fruit and plenty of spice and barrel here, so it suits drinkers already deep into heavy Demerara, taken neat and unhurried.