Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years – Port Ellen Finish
Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years – Port Ellen Finish. In all honesty, looking over my notes I thought I had reviewed more Guyanese rum from Kill Devil, than I actually have. It seems a lot of my Kill Devil reviews have been from Hampden Estate, Jamaica.
Anyway back to Guyana we are. This is another Single Cask and Cask Strength rum from Kill Devil. Kill Devil for those who aren’t in the know is the rum branch of Hunter Laing, who are more famous for their independent whisky bottlings.
Which goes some way to explain how they have got their hands on a ex-Port Ellen cask to add a secondary maturation to this rum.
In actual fact this “cask” is a Sherry Butt. So what we have is a rum being partially aged in a cask which was also used to age both Sherry and Whisky. It must have been quite a big Sherry Butt (some can house up to 600 litres of spirit) as there were 690 70cl bottles available of us this rum when it was launched last year. I’ve only been able to find this rum for sale at The Whisky Barrel. Actually I lie I was able to find it listed as sold out on The Whisky Barrel!
Bearing in mind that they have numerous other bottlings of rum which were available in much smaller quantities still available I am unsure as to where all 690 bottles have gone? I doubt The Whisky Barrel has sold all 690, besides which it doesn’t state this is a Whisky Barrel exclusive.
What is also puzzling me is that the Sherry Butt maturation is the “finish” so this rum must have been in another single cask capable of housing 690 70cl bottles worth of spirit. Most single cask rums I have seen running at Cask Strength seem to have bottling runs of between 250-350. Certainly much lower than this out turn.
Another puzzle is the exact still this rum was distilled on. It states Pot Still Diamond Distillery. So we have a choice of three – Enmore, Versaille or Port Morant. I suppose feasibly if we have a “blending” of two casks before entering the Sherry Butt (as the numbers don’t make that much sense) we could have rum from differing stills. It is more likely to be two very similar casks of the same “run” of rum, however. I hasten to say this is all just speculation.
I am also unaware of how long the initial maturation was. Which I assume was in an ex-bourbon barrel. Nor do I know where all the ageing took place. I am treating this as having spent only a minimal amount of time ageing in the tropics. Which is nothing new for a European Indie bottling.
The rum was distilled in April 2008 and bottled in 2019 noted as being aged 11 Years. As mentioned the only place I have seen it was at The Whisky Barrel, where it retailed for £70. The rum has been bottled at 60.9% ABV. The Sherry Butt in which the rum has enjoyed the “finish” previously held Port Ellen Scotch Whisky for 25 years.
For those of you unfamiliar with Port Ellen distillery, the distillery was to be found on the isle of Islay. Again for those with little Whisky knowledge the island is famous for its style of peated whiskies.
So without further ado lets move onto the fun part.
In the glass we have a light golden brown liquid – which pretty much matches what I expect of an uncoloured rum of this age which has been mostly aged on the continent (of Europe).
The nose is very interesting. It is around 70% “rum” and 30% “peated whisky”. There are sweet familiar “rum” notes of licorice, molasses, toffee and vanilla which nestle nicely alongside a touch of peat bog, tar and some undeniably “whisky” like savoury aromas.
It’s all very interesting but very nicely balanced and I really quite like this. Please note at this case Peated Whisky is NOT my whisky of choice. I’m a bit sedate with my whisky preferring Bourbon Whiskey and at a push the Speyside style of Scotch. That said I haven’t tried an awful lot of Scotch. Anyway I digress….
Sipped at the full strength ABV it’s certainly a very fiery affair. The initial entry is full on peaty smoke and tar. Christ the whisky finish is certainly doing it’s work on the entry. That said a few more sips and my palate seems to be enjoying the peaty entry a little more.
As the Kill Devil Guyana Aged 11 Years – Port Ellen Finish, moves into the mid palate more familiar notes appear. I’m not sure what still this is from to be perfectly honest. Elements of it remind me of the Versailles but the aniseed bite is more akin to Port 
Morant. (Knowing my luck it’ll probably be the Enmore and I’ll be completely wrong!).
Molasses, treacle toffee and some smoky raisins come through as I keep sipping. There is a really complex array of spicy notes coming in and out of play as well. This is a very complex multi faceted spirit. It’s almost like a mixed Whisky and Rum in many ways.
The finish as you might expect at an ABV of over 60% is long, warming and fiery. That said it has a nice balance to it and the smokiness and peatiness fade nicely into some treacle toffee and raisin notes. It’s long, complex and very tasty.
I enjoyed this a quite a bit more than I thought I might. It’s suitably different to warrant a purchase. If you can track one down.
Cachaca Japi Classica. This cachaca hails from Itupeva, Sao Paulo. It is produced at the JP Distillery. Cachaca production at JP Distillery began as far back as 1890. However, in 1925 the property on which the distillery was housed was sold to an Italian immigrant Cyrineo Tonol.
Using Cachaca Japi Classica for mixed drinks makes for some excellent classic drinks. A Caiprinha with Classica Japi Classica is a really enjoyable spicy/citrus heavy affair and Ti Punch is really great – a bit more ABV would have made this even better.
Angostura Premium Rum Aged 7 Years. It’s been a long time since I have reviewed anything from Angostura or for that matter Trinidad Distillers Limited. Until a few days ago I wouldn’t have been expecting to be sitting down and reviewing this rum either.
o much and the only noticeable difference as you work your way up is the amount of sweetening they use. For this bottling the Hydrometer bobs at 40% ABV – but I do still suspect that there is some sweetening or alterations post distillation.
ate is especially “hot” on the alcohol side. It’s not so much that it has a strong alcohol burn it just has quite a high alcohol like taste. It feels as if a shot of vodka has been mixed in with the rum.
Levy Lane Rum Co Tamosi Kanaima. I’m no stranger to Independently bottled Demerara Rum. Which is what this intriguingly named release actually is.
e Rum Co Tamosi Kanaima has been bottled at Cask Strength of 58.9%. The Hydrometer bobs nicely at around 59% ABV. 275 bottles were available on release. You can pick a bottle up for £120 at 
Cockspur Old Gold Special Reserve Rum. I always think of the cricket, when I see Cockspur. Which is strange, because aside from being a mean left handed fast bowler in my youth, my adversity to having small hard things thrown at me at speeds of up to 60mph, largely diminished my interest in the game.
Unlike the Plantation line Cockspur Old Gold Special Reserve Rum has been distilled, aged and blended in Barbados. It says so on the front label. It doesn’t say anything about additives but I can confirm there are none as per the hydrometer.
The back label recommends serving this over ice or with Ginger Ale for a Bajan mule. I mixed this both with Cola and Ginger Beer. It made a pretty pleasant stab at both drinks. In particular with Ginger Ale.
Foursquare Rum Distilery Principia. Finding things to say about Foursquare Distillery and Richard Seale are becoming increasingly difficult. I’m not sure how many Foursquare releases I have reviewed over the past 3 or so years. It must be over 20 easily by now.
rum is like. Expectation is very high. I was fortunate to try this at London Rumfest and it was very good but this has been the first chance I have had to try it in a more familiar, more relaxed environment.
ore it. It reminds me most of Criterion (not a bad thing at all). There are similarities to Triptych as well but I don’t find it quite as woody.
Chairman’s Reserve Master’s Selection 2006 13 Year Old The Whisky Exchange Exclusive. I first noticed one of these Master’s Selection Chairman’s Reserve rums before Christmas 2019. I think it was exclusive bottling for a Belgian retailer, who’s name now escapes me.
However, all the 1931 aged releases were decent so I have high hopes for this bottling. To recognise it’s more Premium appeal compared to the standard Chairman’s Reserve there are a few tweaks to the tradmark stubby rounded bottle. First up we get a cut out card sleeve to house the rum and a general update on the label to give more specific information on the rum and the collaboration with The Whisky Exchange. Secondly rather than a screw cap opening we are treated to a cork stopper. Nice. I must say I do miss the old style presentation/label as pictured – it was my first “Premium” rum purchase.
The finish is long and this is very much a rum to be taken slowly. You don’t need to sip a lot such is intense concentration of flavour. This is a rum to be taken little and not very often at all. Savour it. Allow the rum to swirl around your mouth. Then swallow and savour it for as long as you can wait for the next sip. It really is a rum that needs to be appreciated and taken slowly.
I’ve got a bottle if this one. It was distilled on the Port Mourant still. The Enmore is a wooden column still mate ? the sherry butt is an ex-olorosso butt and held Port Ellen whisky for over 34 years. Finishing period was just under 2 years for the rum. I’m really liking it, but then peat whisky is my preference.
Cheers ears