Velier Port Mourant Demerara Rum Pott Still 1985

Velier is the most prestigious name in collectible rum, and this Port Mourant 1985 is an early Demerara from Luca Gargano's house, drawn off the double wooden pot still, finished in port wood and bottled at eleven years and 46 percent. Old Velier Demerara casks, often left to age with very high losses, are among the most sought-after rums in the world.

From molasses through the legendary PM still, the nose here is rounder than the heaviest examples, dried fruit and apple with cereal and a fresh anise lift, the palate sweetish over dried fruit, apple and young wood, finishing woody and spiced with a vegetal edge. This is an unsweetened, natural-strength bottling, so the sweetness is all from fruit and barrel. It captures the Port Mourant signature in a more approachable, fruit-forward guise from a name that defined the category.