The Single Cask Diamond Distillery Tasting Notes

The Single Cask Diamond Distillery Guyana Rum 2004 (12 year old) 57%

Cask 96/ Dist: 2004 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Jun 2017

A distinctly Guyanan nose of pungent, youthful, oily, vegetal, high toned, column still spirit. There’s a touch of tropical fruit but the vegetal notes dominate. With time a little sweet vanilla and wood spice appears.

The palate mirrors the nose with plenty of pungent, oily, high toned and estry fruit. Raw and vegetal but pleasantly intense with quite a spicy middle. Long and dry with a little bitter spice and dark chocolate.

Water does it no favours at all and completely flattens it!

Edition Spirits Guyana Tasting Notes

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum (Diamond Distillery) 2008 (9 year old) 63.2%

Code: RUM01000/ Dist: Apr 2008 Btl: ?/ Tasted: Mar 2018

Pungent, oily and woody dried fruit (sultana) with fragrant, sweet honey, which pleasantly balances the youthful, oily green banana rancio. Hints of ground almond, peanut, sugar cane juice and wood smoke follow.

The palate displays a lovely intensity of green banana and oily apricot. Tight but smooth with hints of sultana, honey and dried apricot. Good peppery middle, both black and white and a good finish with lingering honey and green banana.

Diluted the nose is less oily with a touch of granulated sugar now showing. Simpler but riper in the fruit department with a touch of earth and charred oak. The palate is softer and juicier with the granulated sugar note sweetening the under-ripe banana. Still quite oily with lingering pulped sugar cane, pepper and charred oak.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum 2003(?) (12 year old) 63.9%

Diamond Distillery

Code: RUM0029/ Dist: 2003? Btl: 2015/ Tasted: Aug 2016

Quite high toned and estry aromas of pineapple, banana, quince, orange and lime. Lightly oiled with hints of dried fruit and tobacco leaf.

Intense and fruity on the palate, as per the nose with touch of coffee’d tannins and more noticeable oily dried fruit. The alcohol is beautifully integrated with the sweetness balancing. A little dry on the finish with some crunchy granulated sugar and lingering oily fruit.

Water brings out some warm vanilla notes on the nose and the palate, along with emphasising the oily fruit and granulated sugar. Super smooth and silky with a light herbal note and spicy, crunchy finish with a touch of floral honey in the after-taste.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyanan Rum 2004 (12 year old) 61.1%

Diamond Distillery – Pot Still

Code: RUM0045/ Dist: Jul 2004 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Dec 2016

Surprisingly quite light in colour for a pot still rum with aromas of oily, high toned, slightly medicinal dried fruit. Lovely intensity with plenty of agricole character and some balancing sugar cane sweetness.

The palate is crisp and intense with the high alcohol masking. Hints of dried fruit, cane sugar and marzipan. This definitely needs some water.

Water emphasises the natural oils and agricole notes. The palate now show more oily congeners and a touch of unsweetend banana. Medium length with lingering oiliness. I feel this could have done with longer in cask.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum 2004 (12 year old) 63.1%

Diamond Distillery – Pot Still

Code: RUM0079/ Dist: Jul 2004 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: July 2017

A very heavy nose, redolent of lanolin, sort of burnt cereal/ wheat-a-bix and youthful earthy/ manure congeners. There is a touch of orange, straw-like fruit but the reality is that this hasn’t spent anywhere near enough time in oak.

The palate is youthful, oily and with that burnt cereal note that could be found on the nose. Fills out a bit on the middle as the honey coated orange arrives. Reasonable length, but way too young.

Water emphasises the impurities of the spirit (if they needed emphasising!) on the nose, whilst the palate is a little fuller and now shows a light medicinal character as well as the youthful impurities.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum 2001(?) (15 year old) 46%

Diamond Distillery

Code: RUM0038/ Dist: 2001? Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Aug 2016

Dark treacle and molasses aromas with slightly singed toast and burnt sugar. Layers of thick, raisinated fruit and moist prune, shot through with a seam of balancing citrus. Hints of incense, dusty spice, pepper and strong, black coffee.

The palate is full and juicy with treacle, molasses and wood spice. Good complexity with dried orange, raisin, prune, fresh citrus and pepper. The spices develop well on the middle and it has a long, mouth-watering, raisinated fruit finish. Lovely, dusty spice after-taste.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyanan Rum 2001 (15 year old) 46%

Diamond Distillery – Column Still

Code: RUM0047/ Dist: Jun 2001 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Dec 2016

Deep, dark, woody, smoky and incredibly intense with molasses and some balancing sweet, but grainy column still notes coming through, but the sub-Armagnac-esque rancio is stunning. Hints of sweet cinnamon, burnt coffee, tar, liquorice and coffee’d tannins follow. It feels older than 15 years.

The palate is equally dark and luscious with treacle, coffee coated prune, dried apricot, orange peel and raisin. Mouthfilling and subtly woody with smoke, tar and liquorice, but again the column still graininess balances. Long and continuing grainy and spicy with lingering wood tannins and dried fruit. Absolutely stunning. Possibly distilled in the famous wooden column still.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum (Diamond Distillery) 2001 (15 year old) 61%

Diamond Distillery – Column Still

Code: RUM0080/ Dist: Jun 2001 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: July 2017

The nose is extremely dark and woody with manurey, almost peated notes. Dark raisinated fruit, macerated orange, liquorice and huge amounts of smoke follow. There is a subtle herbal Oloroso sherry-like note as well which could mean it has been matured in an ex-sherry cask?

The palate is rich and treacly but balanced by the column still graininess. Dark, dried fruit, treacle, liquorice, and wood smoke mingles with a grapey, almost PX-like sherry note. The finish is a little masked but very smoky and herbal. Very impressive.

Water emphasises the riasinated fruit and sherry-like notes. Still quite smoky and now showing a touch of Demerara sugar and medicinal herbs. The palate is lighter and slightly sugary with plenty of milk and dark chocolate and light medicinal notes. Long and remaining chocolaty with toasted nuts and hints of burnt coffee grains

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum 1999(?) (16 year old) 46%

Uitvlugt Distillery

Code: RUM0039/ Dist: 1999? Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Aug 2016

Aromas of sweet vanilla infused tropical fruit – guava, melon, apricot and pineapple. Wow! This is a serious fruit monster! Hints of oily dried fruit and green banana appear along with a faint camphor spice.

More oak is noticeable on the palate and slightly dominates, however the lovely tropical fruit is still there, if a little subdued. The middle becomes slightly oily and the finish is long and crisp as the spirit finally breaks free of the oak. Lightly herbal after-taste.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana (Uitvlught) Rum 1999 (16 year old) 46%

Code: RUM0048/ Dist: Dec 1999 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Nov 2017

Lovely aromas of estery fruit – sweet banana, pineapple, grape, green banana along with some subtle, sweet vanilla and spice.

The palate displays a little more oak vanillins and isn’t as sweet as the nose suggests, which is probably down to the more prominent citrus notes. Subtly juicy with apricot, banana, honey and a touch of bitter spice. Long and vanilla’d with the fleshy fruit lingering.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum 1998 (18 year old) 46%

Diamond Distillery – Column Still

Code: RUM0074/ Dist: May 1998 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: July 2017

Initial aromas of toasty oak give way to treacle and raisinated fruit. Quite woody and smoky, which would seem to indicate it might have been distilled in their Enmore wooden coffey still. Deep, with quite a weighty character with hints of crisp spice and citrus.

Full, rich and treacly on the palate with dried orange peel and dark raisinated fruit. Subtly woody and smoky on the middle with a superb depth and weight. Lovely, classically crisp column still finish with a sprinkling of Demerara sugar and spice.

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana Rum 1992 (24 year old) 46%

Enmore Distillery

Code: RUM0040/ Dist: Feb 1992 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Aug 2016

Stunning, mature aromas of dusty spice, violet tinged incense, smoke and Armagnac-esque dried plumy fruit. A touch of vanilla toffee, salt, molasses and golden syrup appear. Beautifully balanced with a column still spicy sharpness.

The palate is moist, deep and earthy with a lovely, crisp column still mouth-feel. Again full of rich, dark Armagnac-esque dreid fruit, violets, inscence, spice and molasses. Wonderful bitter/ sweet balance and beautiful long, mature finish, show casing the crisp column still character intertwining with the darker molasses character, plus a light agricole-esque note and a touch of tannin on the finish. My god, that has an amazing progression!

Edition Spirits Kill Devil Guyana (Enmore) Rum 1992 (25 year old) 46%

Pot Still/ Code: RUM0092/ Dist: May 1992 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Nov 2017

Aromas of dark roasted French coffee, treacle, dusty oak and almost sherry rich, dried fruits. Hints of tamarind and lime balance and with time hints of spice, menthol and burnt wood appear. Superbly deep!

The palate is ultra softy and smooth, opening with mentholated and oily spirit notes before the treacle, wood spice, citrus and raisinated fruit arrives. Wonderfully balanced and mature with bitter cocoa and vanilla on the middle. Very long with lingering bitter chocolate, burnt wood, cardamom and underlying treacle. Absolutely stunning!

Anguilla Rums Ltd Tasting Notes

Pyrat XO Reserve 40%

15 years in Limosin/ American oak

A sweet, oily and confected nose. This isn’t rum it’s a liqueur and the orange fruit is so sugary and false – it’s really nasty!

The palate is disjointed and so confected it’s untrue. Like the nose it has this nasty, false, confected orange character, which makes me wonder if something has been added to it, because Guyanan rum this isn’t. If you love good rum then, please, please avoid this.

Murray McDavid Tasting Notes

Murray McDavid ‘Renegade Rum’ Diamond Distillery, Guyana 6 year old 46%

Bourbon/ Tempranillo (Figuero Ribera del Duero) – Limited release of 6650 bottles

Tasted: Dec 2010

A nose of pungent, intense, oily, marc-likearomas. Less evolved than the Four Square 6 yearold. Hints of wood spice, menthol and a very light cask suggestion.

Edgy, light and oily on the palate with a heavy marc-like character. A brief oily orange note appears and there is a suggestion of spice on the middle, but it is far too young and unevolved. Although pretty intense, that intensity is rather short lived but the finish is good full of coffee/ hickory, sultana, dried fruit peel and plenty of coffee-spices, which tells you that the quality of the spirit is very good, just too young.

Murray McDavid ‘Renegade Rum’ Enmore Versailles Guyana 1990 (14 year old) 46%

Pot Still – Viognier Cask Finish

Clean, oily aromas of delicate dried fruit, a touch of light toffee, earth and a suggestion of sweet, winey oak. Dry and oily on the palate with a depth of delicate dried fruit, an abundance of wood tannins and earthy notes. Develops a lovely coffee/ mocha note on the middle. Very long with soft cinnamon and vanilla notes.

Murray McDavid ‘Renegade Rum’ Port Morant Guyana 1991 (13 year old) 46%

Pot Still – Hermitage Cask Finished

Clean, oily dried fruit aromas with a winey, spicy top note. Underpinned by a depth of clean, red berry fruit and clean oak. Dry, delicate, developing, sweet, winey, spicy, subtle dried fruit flavours with hints of wood tannins. Very long and subtle leaving a suggestion of dusty spices.

Mezan Rum’s Tasting Notes

Mezan Guyana 2005 (10 year old?) 40%

Distilled at the Diamond Distillery using the old Port Morant Wooden Pot Still

Tasted: Sept 2015

Youth, lightly oiled aromas of nutty dried fruit. Very heavy on the oily congeners, because I’m guessing the wooden still doesn’t remove as many impurities as a copper still. There is a little fruit sweetness beneath and with time the aromas broaden to show a touch of coconut and antisceptic.

The palate is a little watery to be honest with a fair degree of oily terpenes-like note. Very youthful and a bit unevolved with nascent dried fruit rancio developing. Medium length with a slightly nutty and oily finish.

Mezan Rum – Uitvlugt 1998 (13 year old) 40%

Dist: 1998 Btl: 2011

Tasted: Sept 2011

The nose is very similar to the Westerhall in that it has a distinctly grain whisky-like character, with probably more oak, of the burnt caramel persuasion which really flattens the nose out and allows even less spirit character to emerge.

The palate is quite delicate and commences with some lightly oiled dried fruit, and then, yes, you have guessed correct the oak begins to smother the palate. I’ll give the spirit its due as the oils try and hold back the advancing vanillins and the gently sweetened dried fruit does come out on top at the end. If only the oak wasn’t so heavy handed.

Mezan Guyana 1998 (16 year old) 40%

Distilled at the Uitvlught Distillery

Tasted: Nov 2014

Elegant, nutty straw-like aromas of sultana and citrus peel. Quite salty with vanilla and a touch of praline. Gently oiled and complex with developing fragrant honey, earth, sweet roasted coffee, milk chocolate and demerara sugar notes.

The palate opens with a touch of demerara sugar and dried lightly oiled fruit along with coffee, vanilla and milk chocolate. Full flavoured and lightly herbal on the middle. Long, lightly honeyed dried fruit finish with a touch of sweet, chocolaty spice.

Mezan Rum  – Enmore 1990 (21 year old) 40%

Dist: 1990 Btl: 2011

Tasted: Sept 2011

A pungent, mature, peppery and oily nose. In fact it’s quite reminiscent of an old Tequila with no shortage of heavy dried fruit and crystalised citrus all topped off with a hint of parma violets. Very complex and expressive with a seriously woody character, which probably comes from the fact that at the time of this distillation Enmore would have been using the famous wooden pot still.

Oily and weighty on the palate yet extremely elegant. There’s a lovely depth of woody dried fruit with that peppery note from the nose building to a serious intensity on the middle. The flavour fill the mouth and move into an almost oxidised white burgundy character. Damn the finish is woody, it feels like licking out the inside of a wooden still!

Dewar Rattray Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray Port Morant Rum 1992 (17 year old) 46%

Dist: 1992 Btl: 2009

Tasted: Nov 2009

Now the interesting thing with this is that the sample arrived at its natural cask strength of 58.8% and obviously my notes reflect this, so the ‘with water’ notes will be what it will actually taste like. I asked Francis at Dewar Rattray why they had decided to bottle it at 46% and she told me it was because not being specialists in rum they had taken it on advice to bottle it at the lower abv, and one or two of there other customers said they preferred it at 46%.

Now, me, being me, preferred it at cask strength, to which Francis replied “Don’t tell me that!” “You won’t believe the aggravation I’ve been through with this!” They apparently have another cask of I think 1995, which hopefully they will bottle at cask strength.

A pungent and oily nose. I don’t actually need to put my nose in the glass to tell that! This is really intense – rum soaked chocolate sultanas, plump and juicy ones at that. Lovely powdery spices (cinnamon) and yet more dried fruit, cane molasses along with hits of menthol, chicory and a developing leafy-herbalness.

The palate is soft and oily opening with pure cocoa powder, cinnamon, all spice, linseed oil and sultanas. Juicy dried fruit with cane sugar. The sweetness is balanced by the piquant alcohol and the length is superb infused with chocolate drops. A real hit of theCaribbean!

With water (what it will actually be like)

The nose has become very oily now. All those aromas are still pleasant but it seems more reserved and less intimidating I suppose. The palate has the same increased oiliness, and I have to say it has a lovely mouth feel. Those spices, unbridled by the alcohol veritably dance on the tongue. The water also has brought out a medicinal/ leafy note which mutates into a Laphroaig-light, iodine and plaster note (A bit reminiscent of the Alchemist’s Rhum Agricole). Ok, so I preferred it a bit more hardcore, but at 46% it’s still really good.

Bristol Classic Rum’s Tasting Notes

Bristol Classic Rum’s Enmore Still, Guyana 12 year old 46%

Tasted: Feb 2005

A pretty straightforward and simple nose. Slightly oily, slightly fruity. Quite light in body and like the nose simple. Slightly oily, slightly fruity, slightly sugary with a touch of tropical fruit. Unexciting.

Bristol Classic Rum’s Port Morant Still, Guyana 12 year old 46%

Tasted: Feb 2005

Clean, a very oily yet slightly youthful nose of linseed oil along with menthol, earth and herbal notes. Dry on the palate with a good depth of linseed oil soaked fruit, which given time becomes quite tropical in character. Lovely length with dried banana notes in the finish. Loads of character.

Bristol Classic Rum’s Port Morant Still, Guyana 20 year old 46%

Tasted: Feb 2005

Mature, pungent aromas of soft demarara sugar coated fruit and vanilla oils. Off-dry and full bodied. A lovely intensity of softly spiced, oily mature fruit and oak. Exceptionally long and creamy with the wood spice notes lingering.

Bristol Classic Rum’s Versailles Still, Guyana 16 year old 46%

Tasted: Feb 2005

A heavy, mature nose. Extremely oily with loads of earthy fruit and spice notes. Dry, full bodied with a good intensity of mature herbal fruit, soice and oak, A long, soft oily finish with hints of ginger.

Bristol Classic Rum’s Versailles Still, Guyana 18 year old ‘Port Finish’ 46%

Tasted: Feb 2005

A warm and inviting bouquet, full of clove, spice and herbal aromas. The port finish adds a rich fruit cake feel. The palate is soft and herbal with a very intense peppery/ spice middle and a long finish. Very classy with a pleasant balancing sweetness.

Berry Brothers Tasting Notes

Berry Bros ‘Enmore Guyana’ Demerara Rum 1988 (19 year old) 46%

Bourbon/ Dist: 1988 Btl: 2007

A typical, oily and pungent nose of salty, nutty, dried fruits with an abundance of linseed oil coating the dried fruit. A touch high toned and alcoholic but with time some banana and sub-tropical fruit even’s it out.

A very dry and intense palate, again with no shortage of linseed oil coated dried fruit. The alcohol is very piquant for 46% and dies out the middle and the finish. A bit short, although the dried fruit does return after the battering it takes from the alcohol.

Berry Brothers Guyanan Rum 1998 (14 year old) 46%

Distilled at the Diamond Distillery

Dist: 1998 Btl: 2012/ Tasted: May 2014

The nose is light and oily with a touch of ozone. Crisp, dried fruit with that classic Gyananan oily, edginess. A little on the straightforward side but pleasant enough. With time a light smoke note appears.

The palate is soft and oily, opening with a touch of vanilla, oily sultana, dried apple and light spice. Again fairly straightforward but it has a pleasant depth and intensity. Quite mouth-filling with a long citrus and dried fruit finish and a light, chocolaty wood tannin after-taste.

Demerara Distillers Ltd Tasting Notes

El Dorado 3 year old 40%

Twice Charcoal Filtered to remove the colour.

Tasted: May 2017

A rounded and soft nose with subtle dried fruit, citrus and a touch of vanilla.

The palate is like the nose, rounded and soft with hints of dried fruit, molasses, vanilla and unsweetened coconut. Medium length with a dry, slightly spiced and citric finish.

El Dorado 5 year old 40%

A blend of Utivlugt Savalle still and the Enmore wooden Coffey still.

Tasted: May 2017

The nose displays some slightly coffee’d and chocolaty dried fruit notes with hints of molasses and sweet spice.

The palate opens with crisper column still spirit and a touch of molasses and coffee. Again the dried fruit notes are quite subtle with a little vanilla, coconut and bitter chocolate on the middle. Medium length with a dry, spicy finish.

El Dorado 8 year old 40%

A blend of 4 stills including the Enmore wooden Coffey still and the Port Morant double wooden pot still.

Tasted: May 2017

Pungent and smoky aromas of dark dried fruit, molasses, tobacco and toffee. Pleasantly complex with a lovely, elegant dried tropical fruit note and a balancing column still edgy freshness.

The palate opens with the heavier molasses and dried fruit with hints of vanilla, nuts and flambéed banana. The crisp column still spiciness and crispness comes through on the middle but the depth of raisinated dried fruit is very impressive for its age. Long, juicy finish with hints of dark chocolate and coffee.

El Dorado 12 year old 40%

A blend of the Enmore and Diamond Coffey stills and the Port Morant double wooden pot still.

Tasted: May 2017

A dark and pungent nose with tobacco, sweet vanilla, honey and a touch of brown sugar. There are plenty of woody spice and dark tropical fruit with a light violety top note. Although the column still spirit plays second fiddle to the pot still spirit, the nose has a lovely, harmonious balance.

The palate is soft and wonderfully fruity. Subtly tropical with hints of vanilla, nuts, molasses and now some crisp column still notes. A touch of spice and brown sugar appears and the finish, although sweet is superbly balanced with lingering tobacco, spice and column still notes. Like the 8 year old it has a dark chocolate and coffee after-taste.

El Dorado Special 15 year old 43%

Tasted: Dec 2010

A big, pungent nose of dark toffee, molasses, liquorice and some peat like notes. Exceedingly mellow, the nose reeks of maturity. Stunning complexity with sweet dried fruits – prunes, figs, orange peel, dark chocolate and a late touch of smoke.

The palate is sweet and soft. Again showing some serious maturity along with dark brown sugar coated dried fruit, marzipan, buttered almonds and a touch of medicinal vegetalness. Yes it’s sweet but the alcohol does a superb job of balancing it and the length is stunning. Very long with hints of dark liquorice and subtle vegetal notes. A proper dark rum!

El Dorado 15 year old 43%

Re-Tasted: Apr 2013

A very grapey nose with dark Colombian coffee grains, treacle, dark macerated orange conserve and an almost medicinal, camphor notes. Stunningly deep and mature with maybe more of an apricot/ tangerine conserve rather than orange and some delightfully sweet dried prune and figs. With time the dark chocolate aromas become more prevalent. I really love that medicinal freshness!

Sweet and soft on the palate, opening with some gently smoked molasses, demerara sugar and treacle coated dried prune, raisin and plum. Although it is a big mouth-filling Rum it has a beautiful balancing citrus character which along with the light medicinal note adds freshness. Stunning length of liquid liquorice and treacle along with a lightly herbal finish.

El Dorado 15 year old 43%

A blend of the Enmore and Diamond Coffey stills, the Port Morant double wooden pot still and the Versailles single pot still.

Re-Tasted: May 2017

An intense and quite violety nose with dark coffee, vanilla, molasses, cinnamon sticks, almond, dark dried fruit and no shortage of peppery wood notes. Now, that’s a superb nose!

Rounded and deep on the palate with dark tropical fruit, coffee, violets, brown sugar and tobacco. The richness of the heavy pot still spirit is superbly balanced by the crisp coffey still spiciness and the oak. Succulent and juicy dried fruit finish with lingering nutty molasses.

El Dorado 15 year old 43%

Re-Tasted: Apr 2018

Subtle pot still rich fruit on the nose with dark, treacly dried fruit and a hint of lighter column still character. Hints of oxidised fruit, marzipan, charred oak and wood smoke appear. Superbly aromatic and elegant.

The palate is full and rich, opening with sweet molasses, almond, prune, walnut and hints of column still dried fruit. Lovely balance and gentle spiciness with a serious depth and complexity. It becomes quite oily on the middle and the finish is long, sweet and rich with lingering prune, dried plum and black cherry.

El Dorado 21 year old 43%

From Spirits aged between 21 and 25 years. Distilled in wooden Pot and Continuous Stills

Tasted Oct 2012

A stunning, dark and unctuous bouquet of liquorice, mocha, tobacco and dark spices along with an uplifting light vegetal spirit note. Very venerable with a touch of sawdusty oak coming through along with notes of iodine, molasses, dark toffee. Seriously deep and multi-layered.

The palate is rich and dark, displaying liquorice, raisins, tobacco and a light dark chocolate note before moving into sweet dried fruit, bitter dark coffee. Very mouth-filling with a middle redolent of barky/ woody spices and walnuts. The molasses and demerara sweetness balances the bitterness adroitly. Very deep and exceedingly long, finishing with a lingering, slightly herbal spirit note and a slightly floral after-taste. Absolutely stunning!

El Dorado 21 year old 43%

Re-Tasted: Apr 2013

Stunningly mature aromas of, dark macerated orange conserve, liquorice, mocha, tobacco, burnt wood and woody spices. Wonderfully balanced just like the 15 year old with the citrus/ medicinal notes adding freshness and giving the nose a lift. Beautiful sawdusty oak underpins all that sun dried raisin, treacle and dark syrup character. With time a touch of iodine and tobacco smoke emerges.

The palate is unbelievably soft, supple and unctuous. A real mouthful of liquorice, dark treacle, dark toffee, citrus peel and Christmas pudding dried fruit. Incredibly deep and mouth-filling with a lovely walnutty, barky spiced middle. Again the combination of alcohol/ citrus and medicinal notes cleanses the palate and balances the sweetness. Exceptionally long with the light, herbal/ medicinal notes lingering and a lovely, softly smoked after-taste.

Banks DIH Ltd Tasting Notes

VXO Extra Old 40%

A blend of spirits aged for at least 7 years in Sherry casks.

Tasted: Apr 2010

A really big nose of linseed oil and buckets of Demerara sugar. The sherry cask is pervasive but sits in the background. Soft and sweet, yet not overblown. It has distinctive aromas of rum and raisins and over time burnt toffee and charred oak notes emerge.

Again the palate is quite sweet, less oily than the nose would suggest with liquorice, Demerara sugar and dried raisinated fruit. Soft, gentle and mouth filling, although surprisingly simple. Personally I would have expected more complexity, but it is still pleasant with a good length.

XM Royal 10 year old 40%

Aged for 9 years in Bourbon casks, then blended and given a final year in Sherry casks.

Tasted: Apr 2010

Again a very big nose. Opening with charred/ toasted oak, light orange/ tangerine fruit before the dried fruits wade in. Hints of linseed oil and sherry cask, which develops a floral/ violet note. Lovely purity.

The palate is very whisky like, with a restrained sweetness. An absolute riot of dried fruit – dates, raisins and banana. Very complex with developing herbal/ vegetal notes on the middle. Superb intensity, and although only 40%, the alcohol seems top imbue it with more punch(?) and balances the sweetness well, leaving quiet a dry finish.