El Dorado Rare Collection Skeldon 2000 was made at the Diamond distillery.
After a "Continuous Blair Still" distillation in 2000, the rum was aged for 18 years in a tropical climate. It was bottled on site in 2018, "brut de fût".
Skeldon is a small town located in the North-East of Guyana, on the seaside, near the border with Suriname. Until 1960, it was the home of the sugar distillery of the same name, Skeldon Sugar, which first moved to Uitlvlugt, then in 1999 to Diamond, now the only distillery in the country. The Skeldon Sugar Factory still exists but does not distil molasses anymore.
This is a very limited edition.
Nico's tasting note
The nose is initially hidden behind a veil of solvent, a privilege of age which augurs a beautiful concentration. The curtain rises on an abysmal rum, with depths so dark that you can't see the end. There is toasted oak, molasses, and nuts, but it's not all there is. You feel drawn deeper still.
After a while, the roast takes over and takes charge, with coffee, charred wood and scorched spices. Molasses and oak are raw, clean, uncompromising. But soon there's a glimmer in all this blackness, it's cherry jam, or quince, or even apricot, with a few vanilla beans crackling on a grilled coconut flesh.
The palate is concentrated and sticky, like a hot toffee that one has been in too much of a hurry to taste. It doesn't burn, far from it, but it's as sticky as a licorice-tasting resin. The burnt wood hangs on for a moment and spreads some of its dark coffee, but it's soon swept away by a fully cooked and melted American oak. The classic vanilla, coconut and tobacco notes reach a surprisingly deep maturity here. This maturity is also a guarantee of balance, as the rum is as deep as it is greedy, as solemn as it is regressive.
The finish is more seductive, with chocolate and richly caramelised nuts.
"This seemingly dark and serious rum will reveal itself to be intensely greedy after a little airing. You will then find everything that makes the Demerara legend...".
Damien Chatonnet
Excellent.