Dràm Mòr Single Cask Rum Diamond Distillery Aged 10 Years. I said when reviewing the Dràm Mòr Fiji bottling a couple of days ago that I would get their other Spring release reviewed as quickly as I could. So here we are…….

This rum hails from the Diamond Distillery, Guyana which is the home of Demerara Distillers Limited. Who produce the El Dorado range of rums and also sell a lot of bulk rum.

A lot of this rum is used to produce the various “Demerara Rum” brands you will see such as Wood’s, Pusser’s, OVD etc. It is also used in blends and a lot of casks make their way to Independent bottlers such as Dràm Mòr.

This rum is noted as being from the Diamond Distillery but we need to dig a bit deeper to work out exactly what type of Demerara rum this is. Over the years Guyana has lost all but one of its rum distilleries – Diamond is the only one still active. As a result of this they have acquired a number of heritage stills from other distilleries.

As a result Demerara Distillers Limited can produce a lot of different marques of rum. Even within the same still they can produce a wide variety of different marques. This is something which has been covered quite extensively by bloggers and enthusiasts. It is perhaps only Jamaican rum which has come under similar scrutiny and interest, when it comes to identifying individual marques.

As the stills have on some occasions been located at a number of distilleries it can get confusing. Some Independent bottlers will identify the rum by its “marque” or by the still it was produced on. Others will identify it by using the distillery it was produced at.

This particular rum is the “MPM” marque. I’m not entirely sure what the first “M” stands for but I do know that this is from the Port Mourant still. Rums from this particular still are often noted as being “Uitvlugt” which is where the still was located prior to being moved to Diamond Distillery. Dràm Mòr are correct in identifying this rum as being from the Diamond Distillery as this rum was distilled when the still was up and running at Diamond. For clarification way back in the midst of time the Port Mourant Still was held at the Port Mourant Sugar Estate. That said you’ll not find any rum available from that time period. The factory closed in 1953.

So we have a Port Mourant Rum. The Port Mourant still is noted as being “Double Wooden Pot Still” and rum produced on this still are used in the likes of Pusser’s and Wood’s.

Dràm Mòr Single Cask Rum Diamond Distillery Aged 10 Years hails from cask #46 it has been matured in an ex-bourbon barrel and finished in an ex-Buffalo Trace barrel for 5 months prior to bottling. It was distilled in 2011 as mentioned already on the Port Mourant Double Wooden Pot Still. This rum has been bottled at 55% ABV. As with all the Dràm Mòr rums so far it is a Single Cask rum with only 249 bottles being available. As per the previous Dràm Mòr releases it is available from the Good Spirits Co.  (and other retailers) priced at £55.50.

I don’t think I have anything else to add. So we may as well get on to the fun part and get nosing and tasting.

In the glass, we have quite a light coloured liquid. Straw in colour.

The nose is familiar. Some nice notes of raisin and sultana alongside some of the trademark liquorice/aniseed notes that I enjoy from Port Mourant. I don’t know if it is the “finish” in the 1st Fill Buffalo Trace cask but this Port Mourant seems more vanilla-ey than usual. Large wafts of vanilla ice cream and some toffee sauce come into play. I’ve got to say I rather like this “softer” profile.

There isn’t a great deal of “menace” or aggressive spices. I’m not getting much oak or any kind of chilli/pepper profile. On further nosing I’m getting quite a strawberries and cream kind of note as well.

I’m enjoying this nose it’s sweet (not sweetened) and inviting. It has enough complexity as well to make me wonder quite how the rum will taste.

At 55% ABV it is quite an easy drinker. It’s certainly more “savoury” than the nose suggested. The initial sip has a nice depth of spice and we are getting some warming oak notes. The aniseed note is there as well giving it a nice kick.

It’s quite malty and a little whisky-esque as we move into the mid palate. The vanilla and strawberry notes on the nose were only briefly present on the entry. They now give way to a more cask driven kind of flavour.

Overall this isn’t the most powerful Port Mourant I have had. It’s quite light in profile. That being said it is does have a nice mix and complexity. There is a fair bit going on with this rum. It’s just not going to be knocking anyone socks off. Actually, it might as the ABV is quite high but its dangerously drinkable………

At 10 years old the finish is decent enough but it does fade out a little quicker than I might have hoped. It becomes almost a little hoppy in parts and it feels a little like an aged bourbon.

Which is not a problem for me as I really enjoy an aged bourbon. Overall this isn’t quite as good as the excellent Fiji bottling. It is still a very nice example of the Port Mourant still. At the price its not going to break the bank either. It’s the kind of rum you could happily have a couple of glasses of an evening, without having to scrutinise in too much detail.

This has a really good balance of flavour and I think the Buffalo Trace finish has possibly given it a bit more of a rounded profile.

Good stuff.