Versailles El Dorado El Dorado Versailles Special Cask Finish 2005/2021 Madeira Dry Casks

This El Dorado Versailles Special Cask Finish ran from 2005 to 2021, a sixteen year old release from Demerara Distillers drawn off the Versailles single wooden pot still and finished in dry Madeira casks, bottled at cask strength, 55.1 percent. Though an El Dorado, this special cask-finish line sits closer to the heritage-still register than the sweetened core range.

The Versailles pot still gives a robust, bright, tannic wood character, here framed by molasses, burnt sugar and a nutty edge on the nose, with red fruit, toasted oak and barrel on the palate, closing woody and peppery with allspice and red fruit. The dry Madeira finish layers darker fruit over that raw-wood backbone without turning it soft. At full proof it shows the Versailles signature with weight and grip, a richer, fruit-edged take on the single wooden pot still.