El Dorado Rare Collection Port Mourant 1997 is, as its name suggests, a rare rum. It was distilled in 1997 on the Port Mourant still at theUitvlugt distillery. The original distillery for this legendary still closed in 1955, so it was transferred to Uitvlugt before being moved again to Diamond in 2000.
This is a traditional molasses rum from the Demerara region of Guyana. It was bottled in 2017 after more than 19 years of ageing. To preserve all its character, it was also bottled brut de fût and without cold filtration.
Nico's tasting notes
The first nose plays with our senses, with a typical, funky rum still hiding between the barrel's well-roasted staves. Then comes a touch of roasted oak, with spicy notes, followed by occasional glimpses of colored light, accompanied by fruity aromas.
Aeration takes us deep into a workshop where the scents of engine grease, oil and copper reign. There's even a tarry, burnt aspect reminiscent of Trinidad rums. Then, through a small, highly concentrated cherry pit, the fruit makes its entrance and bursts out into the open, enriched with all the full-bodied aromas it has travelled through before reaching us.
The palate is powerful and imposes a sharp, warm, coppery character. Nuts like pecan are on a fiery grill, smoking and crackling. The fruit takes itself quite seriously, with a dark prune with thick, almost armored skin. The core, on the other hand, is rather delicate and fragrant, strangely reminiscent of the kind of dried fruit you might find in an old agricultural rum or even an Armagnac.
The finish echoes exotic fruits, buried under layers of burnt wood and tar.
"A very dark and serious Port Mourant. Tropical ageing pushed to the extreme..."
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