Popped the first bottle of my 1975 Port Mourant collection open for tasting this Sunday, and this might very well be the first review for the Kingsbury 1975 Port Mourant. For those who aren’t acquainted with demerara rums, there are some errors on the labelling of this rum. In actual fact, the rum would have been distilled using the Port Mourant double wooden vat still in the Uitvlugt Distillery in 1975 as the original Port Mourant distillery had ceased to exist then, and its distillation still moved to Albion in the 60s, then to Uitvlugt in the 70s.

(Image Source: @weixiang_liu)

On the nose its pretty remarkable considering the absence of woody or mustiness that usually comes with such aged rums. Instead, you get warm and rich molasses, dried prunes, and oak that balances perfectly with the other notes, which makes you want to just dive right into tasting. Little hints of leather, cardamom, herbal, and savoury notes, but just ever so slightly.

In terms of the palate, the best tasting notes present themselves after allowing the rum to breathe for 20-30 odd minutes. You get sweet caramel at the beginning, a bit of spiciness. The middle palette is where the age shows, dark cacao, coffee, oak and hints of leather. The finish is the real highlight, just slight dry and woody-ness, but that final note of sweet prunes linger on forever, which makes you just want to go back for more.

Conclusion - I must admit this is only the second time I’ve reviewed such an old rum, and thus am unable to compare with other Port Mourants or Demeraras from the 70s or 80s. But as a bottle on its own, it is a perfect example of great demeraras of that age, rich, complex, very pleasant, and not in any way adversely affected by its cask as many other aged spirits tend to be.

Your occasional rum addict!

@weixiang_liu