El Dorado Rare Collection Enmore 1996 is a traditional molasses rum from Guyana's Demerara region. The Enmore plantation, now closed, housed a rare distillation apparatus: a column made from the local greenhart wood. This column is still in use at the Diamond distillery, and its rums are still used today in the blends of El Dorado rums.
This is a very old rum, distilled in 1996 and bottled brut de fût in 2017. It therefore spent 21 years in ex-bourbon barrels and underwent no cold filtration.
Nico's tasting notes
The first nose is dominated by a well-burned woodiness, whose charcoal offers a powdery aspect. Nuts, too, are well roasted, and very lightly passed through a very cooked caramel. Roastiness reigns undoubtedly, while a few fruity flashes begin to appear.
Aeration reveals a monster of concentration, which needs a little more time to relax. The woodiness has been reduced to a compact block, in which a powerful rum vibrates. The coffee and caramel are intimidatingly serious, as is the toasted, still-smoking pecan.
The palate is initially round, then nervous, like a coffee liqueur quickly overtaken by the roasting of its beans. Demerara's classic dark rum style then unfolds in all its splendor. The rum coats the taste buds with caramel, molasses and caramelized nuts. Coffee is ground with walnuts and currants, then a paste of dark dates.
The finish is liquorice and woody, with a lovely concentration of vanilla.
"A Demerara that is not easy to approach, but which will reveal its full potential with long aeration..."
Damien Chatonnet
Excellent
Johannes
Terrific wooden column still rum.