Another lazy weekend, and it’s time for yet another Rum review – Yes, yet another Rum review from The Duchess, this time Guyana rum from Diamond distillery.

It was distilled in their Wooden Coffey still (so basically it’s Enmore). It’s a 20 year Old that spent the last 8 years in ex-Armagnac cask that yielded 243 bottles at natural cask strength of 50.8% (and of course, no additional coloring or chill filtering)

Diamond Rum 1998 20 Year Old Armagnac Cask Finish (50.8%, €95,00/£88.50)

Nose: At first it’s very wine-y and very Armagnac/Cognac like with the smooth wood spice and grapes. Then sugar, orange and delicate citrus, white pepper and oak spice that lurks in the background. Slowly it’s more rum-y, fermented banana, some light funk and esters, followed by a delicate balance of white flowers and sweet grapes with rum. A very light and restrained rum nose (relatively to other rums tasted lately).

Palate: More Rum-y with added funk, drier, wood spice, fermented fruits, sugar, even more wood, oranges, white flowers perfume, a bit soapy towards the end.

Finish: medium length, wax and soap, wood, fermented and fizzy coating, light Demerara sugar and some esters/funk underneath.

Thoughts: This is clearly an interesting (or weird, or both) experiment that leaves us with a rum that doesn’t smell or taste much as a proper rum nor as a proper Armagnac. Overall it’s decent as the the nose is quite nice even if the palate is less so. Could it be a beginners rum for those coming from Cognac/Armagnac? I think that would work but no with the ‘baggage’ and price that such Rum carries with it.