Roaming Road Spirits Guyana Rum 10 Year
Introduction
Well we are back on the Roaming Road again. Roaming Road Spirits Guyana Rum 10 Year is being road tested today.
I’ve reviewed one Roaming Road Spirits release before their 19 Year Old Haiti offering. Please take the time to read that review as I give a bit of background on the owner of Roaming Road Spirits Mike Gilmore. I don’t like writing or copy-pasting the same introductions for my reviews, so this introduction will differ from that.
First thing I find myself asking whenever I see a Guyanese Independent Bottling is – what still?
I think its a fairly common ask by most enthusiasts. I doubt many people purchase an Indie bottling of Guyana rum with no idea what still it was produced on. Even Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) recognise the importance of the still set ups and explaining this, with their flagship El Dorado rums.
This rum is a product of arguably the most “famous” of the DDL “Heritage Stills” the 250 year old Double Wooden Port Mourant Pot Still. You can read a bit more about the “Heritage Stills” here. Even with such historical stills some marketing speak stills creeps in. The still is probably a bit more like “Triggers Broom” in Only Fools and Horses, than actually ALL 250+ years old……still there is no doubting this is a pretty unique still in todays rum world.
The rum itself was bottled in 2025. It is still available both from the US “home” website and from various retailers in the UK and Europe. The UK has so far received a limited release, of four of Roaming Road Spirits rums. All of which I will be reviewing.
It has been bottled at 50.7% ABV and has been aged entirely in ex-bourbon casks. I cannot find any concrete information on the Tropical/Continental ageing ratio. It is noted as being Single Cask.
Tasting
In the glass, the rum presents a clean, bright amber hue. As with ex-bourbon cask Port Mourants (many of which have been labelled by Indies as Uitvlugt over the years) its much lighter in colour than offering from the Versailles and Enmore stills.
On the nose, this is textbook, classic Port Mourant. There is no mistaking that. It delivers exactly what you expect and want from the legendary Double Wooden Pot Still. It leads with a distinct, cooling wave of menthol and eucalyptus. Beneath that familiar herbal freshness lies a thick, heavier layer of black liquorice, interwoven with just a touch of rich, earthy molasses. It is an honest and aromatic profile that immediately sets the stage for a proper, traditional Guyanese experience.
Unlike some other Port Mourant’s that have been aged solely in ex-bourbon this, at least from the nose seems to have a bit more “richness” to its profile. Slightly less dry and less bourbon esque.
Sipped at full strength, it offers a controlled, warming entry. The more herbal notes on the nose come through first – giving it a pine cone / pot pourri like feel. With further sips more of the liquorice and molasses come through giving it a much more rounded, richer experience.
The mid-palate is where the true, classic character of this rum really unravels and takes centre stage. It expands beautifully across the tongue, delivering a massive, enveloping hit of that heavy black liquorice very much reminiscent of traditional, chewy Pontefract cakes or strong Dutch salted liquorice. Just as that deep, slightly bitter note threatens to dominate, the cooling menthol notes from the nose sweep back in, providing a brilliant, contrast that lifts the entire experience.
Sitting beneath it all is that touch of molasses. It doesn’t bring any artificial sweetness to the party but instead provides a slightly savoury undercurrent. The 10 years in ex-bourbon offers a gentle, well-integrated tannic structure and a hint of baking spice that frames the rum nicely.
The finish is long and clean. It fades out gradually on those cooling herbal notes, dry oak and a lingering, slightly herbal liquorice.
Verdict
Mike Gilmore and the folks at Roaming Road Spirits have bottled a classic almost textbook example of ex-bourbon cask Port Mourant here.
It doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, nor does it shy away from what makes this still so legendary. This Ten year old expression exhibits a great sense of balance, delivering exactly the kind of unadulterated profile that a lot of purists will be looking for. The cask management is spot on, allowing the Pot still distillate to shine and display its herbal, liquorice forward complexity without being completely swallowed up by the wood.
If your reference point for Guyana is the standard, historically dosed commercial releases, this will be a welcome education in what the Diamond distillery is actually capable of producing when the spirit is left entirely to its own devices.
Final Thoughts: El Dorado for grown ups