I place the Guyana rum mysteries somewhere between curiosity and irritation in my personal emotions, that’s the biggest gambling in the rum world isn’t it? But finally I must say I enjoy playing it. Anyway the most important thing is the reason why you actually read this article… How do they taste?
Samaroli Dark Demerara 1994-2006 (45%, cask #33, 346 bottles)
Colour: As you can read it, dark! The 1994 vintage with such a dark color means we probably have an Enmore REV (Versailles still) release, sounds interesting!
Nose: The nose approves my thoughts. That’s quite intense with dark chocolate, tobacco, plums, expresso, dried fruits such as nuts and almonds, wood, oranges, leather, sultanas and black grapes.
Mouth: Nice oily texture and the reduction is very well done, that’s more powerful than expected! Chilies, cocoa, ginger, lemons, tobacco, leather, grapefruits, wood, tannins, licorice,burnt caramel, peppermint and some metallic notes. That’s complex but the spicy notes are a bit too present.
Finish: Long enough and slightly bitterish. Burnt wood, overcooked caramel, almonds and vanilla.
The whole experience confirm my first idea. The reduction did not retract his qualities, good job!
Score: 89
The Rum Cask Enmore 1988-2020 (47.9%, MEC)
Colour: Coffee.
Nose: That’s quite different than the first one. We have marzipan, polished wood, glue, mix of milk and dark chocolate, coffee beans, leather, plums and citrus jam. The wood is a bit too present but it doesn’t kill the whole nose at all.
Mouth: I’m a bit disappointed at first sip… That’s less aromatic than the Samaroli which has been reduced (maybe this one was as well?), but it’s more evolutive. It starts sweet, then it becomes warmer. Wet wood, dark bitter chocolate, ginger, marzipan, vanilla, plums, black grapes, leather and the nose’s solvents we meet back.
Finish: Long and warm. Vanilla, cake dough, menthol, violet flowers and blackcurrant.
That’s the only one with a clear mark today, maybe because it’s the most recent release. MEC means Versailles still was used for this one (at the Enmore distillery). That’s not a bad but too much wood and bitterness.
Score: 85
WIld Parrot Enmore 1991-2019 (53.6%, cask #WP91536)
Colour: Coffee.
Nose: For the second time it’s very different than the two first profiles, it seems to be more « dirty » with more fuel presence, leather and tobacco notes. The ABV is a bit higher but the alcohol integration is very nice. Coffee, blueberries, blackberries, licorice sticks, oranges and grapefruits.
Mouth: Very pleasant creamy texture. Wood, tannins, fuel, tobacco, leather, overall the mouth profile follow the same pattern as the nose. Coffee, blueberries, espresso, blackcurrant and burnt caramel. Well balanced mouth, the wood don’t overwhelms the other aromas.
Finish: Long, powerful and slightly bitterish. Burnt wood, vanilla, eucalyptus, coffee, floral notes and fresh soil.
This one is probably from KFM batch (Versailles still) as all ’91 vintage are actually, but who really know?
Off the beaten track and very well balanced, that works pretty well, good job!
Score: 90
Did you notice that with my informations crossed with the tasting there is high probabilties that there’s not even one of these rums coming from the Enmore wooden coffey still today?
Marius wrote recently : « I guess the most real of all Enmores would be one that has been distilled by the Enmore Wooden Coffey still (EHP) at Enmore Distillery and subsequently got to mature at the estate. But guess what, we have zero such rums in our sample library. Instead, we only have rums that fit at best two of the three criteria. »
I agree fully with that point of view. But as I said before, does it really matter?
Anyway we had some great stuff today, cheers!
Tasting Bro's 