Decided to go with quite a special single-cask Enmore today - Wild Parrot Enmore 1994 25 year old, bottled by Hidden Spirits Whisky Company exclusively for LMDW’s French Connections series. Its not known to me the marque of this rum, but it was distilled using the Enmore wooden coffey still, aged in an ex-bourbon cask and bottled at 51.2% abv, with an outturn of only 158 bottles.

(Image Source: @weixiang_liu)

The nose is just so so appealing, rich, warm, lots of depth and character. Purple fruits, tobacco, petrol. Its also quite spicy, peppercorns, some balsamic. There’s also a nice woody character to it, paired with caramelised bananas, and somewhat reminiscent of a glass of sherry.

The palate on the other hand is unlike the nose. At 51.2%, the heat and spices are immediately upfront, cinnamon, but also some sweetness, dates, raisins. The middle is where things get a bit funky, vegetal notes and a lot of mustiness, almost as if the cask was far older than 25. The finish is silky, some of those sweet notes return to the fore, persimmon, before the woodiness comes along, making it a slightly drying and tannic rum, similar to a dry port. You can tell that the sweet notes are still trying to cut through, but the dryness keeps it in check.

A great Enmore, just the mustiness was tad too much for my liking, but otherwise complex and delicious, and perfect for Demerara fans. Thanks @the_rum_cartel for the recommendation!

Afternote: While the official notes had stated that the rum was distilled from the Enmore coffey still, I am convinced that it was a mistake given the proliferation 94 demerara rums that were distilled at the Enmore distillery, on the Versailles single wooden vat still. Furthermore, the marque is likely the REV, the caramel-coloured version of the VSG, which imparts not only colour, but also certain flavour characteristics that I actually do really appreciate, especially in this bottling.

Your occasional rum addict!

@weixiang_liu