The Greenheart collection is a series of old demerara rums bottled by @distilia_ that were distilled from the late 1980s till the early 90s. The name of the series itself “Greenheart”, relates directly to the stills that the rums were distilled on, the Port Mourant or Versailles wooden vat stills that were made from the native greenheart trees of Guyana. Together with the Enmore wooden coffey still, the three represent the last remaining examples of wooden distillation stills left in the world.

The sample I have today was kindly given to me by @rum_whisky_, and is of the 1994 vintage, distilled on the Versailles still at the Enmore distillery, and bearing the REV marque, the caramel-coloured variant of the VSG, and bottled at 50.4% abv.

The nose was unmistakably one of a fine demerara, and had a nice depth and complexity to it. It likely spent most of its time aging on the continent, given away by the more imposing notes of leather, liquorice, as well as that little bit of salinity. And while continental aging usually comes with a kind of brightness, this was somewhat tamed by chocolatey and caramel notes that kept those earlier flavours from expressing itself too much. Alongside all of this were some fruity notes too, a bit of tangerines, cantaloupe, and a side of mint just to make it all that more uplifting.

The palate was a very interesting one, almost completely dominated by savoury notes, and a rich, oily texture that coats your tongue. Once again, those continental notes were pretty much the mainstay, leather and liquorice again. The wood and spiciness appeared in the middle, where you get that little bite on the sides your palate. The finish was nice and long, treacly, and was the point where the fruits began to show, red dates, mint, a bit of milk chocolates and coffee perhaps, and some preserved orange peels.