The last rum review of 2022 leads me back to one from the final chapter of the age of @velierspa’s demerara rums - the Diamond & Port Mourant 1999.

Similar to the EHPM 1998 I tasted from the same 2014 release, the Diamond & Port Mourant 1999 was an experimental blend where two different marques, <W> and PM, were blended and tropically aged in four casks for 15 years before being bottled at 52.3%, resulting in 1,148 bottles. The <W> marque rum from the Diamond Coffey still accounted for the majority of liquid in the blend, although the exact composition was not made known to us.

It has a rather distinctive nose where it would be possible for one to pick out two layers of notes, the first, a lighter, more uplifting character, fresh, grass jelly, liquorice, a hint of tangerine, and rather medicinal if I may. The second is a deeper, darker profile, lots of molasses, cafe latte made with dark roasted espresso and that chalkiness that usually comes along with it, and also some sweet prune juice.

The palate has quite a bit of spiciness in it, and despite the <W> being the dominant liquid, the PM seemed somewhat more prominent in the blend, with those familiar leathery notes, raisins, and despite that darker profile on the nose, the palate comes across rather fresh. Green grapes, milk coffee, and more of that leathery funk, a bit of putrid notes all in the middle. The finish is long, with raisins, molasses, rich, milk chocolate. The texture is rather spritely, except for somewhere in the finish when it becomes a slight more creamy, although the overall sense I got was one that might have been more tannic than I would’ve liked.

In sum, this was a rather interesting blend of demerara rums that has tremendous potential, though the balance was perhaps not quite there yet, and little adjustments to the ratio of the two marques could result in a better balanced and integrated blend. That said, it still is very much better than many other demerara blends I’ve had, and I am hoping to be able to taste the other two similar Velier-related bottlings, albeit a different vintage and different marques from the Diamond Coffey still. Thank you @mandedrinks for the sample!

Image Courtesy of @weixiang_liu