The Duchess Guyana 27 Years Old Rum. The Duchess are back in 2021 with another release in their Tropical Hummingbirds series. These rums got a lot of positive reviews (not just from me) and comments in 2020. Here’s hoping Nils Van Rijn, the man behind the brand can continue his excellent barrel picks!

Today we have a very old rum from Guyana. This rum is so old in was actually distilled at a different distillery than the Diamond Distillery. Something which as time progresses is going to become increasingly rare. This rum was actually distilled at the now closed Uitvlugt Distillery on their iconic (and still in use) Port Mourant Double Wood Pot Still.

The Duchess Guyana 27 Years Old Rum was, as mentioned distilled in October 1993 ands bottled in November 2020. Making it a full 27 Years Old (and a bit). It has been bottled at Cask Strength of 50.1% ABV. I do not know how much time it has spent in the tropics vs continental european ageing. It is quite light in colour but the cask number 5, this was drawn from has yielded just 189 70cl bottles. The rum has been aged in an ex-bourbon cask.

Once again the wonderful Hummingbird artwork is produced by the multi talented Dutch artist Hans Dillesse. As usual the presentation of this bottling is top notch with an attractive wax seal for the cork stopper. If you are interested in this rum and you are in the UK, you are in luck. Despite Brexit, there is stock of this available in the UK as ordering from the destinations within the EU are currently blocked. So you can order here from Edencroft. It is priced at £225. Pricey but what price were you expecting a rum that was distilled, when I was still in school to be?

Before I start my assessment of this rum it has already been reviewed by Serge over at Whiskyfun who gave it 91/100. So this shouldn’t be too shabby at all. His review and score are all over the online listings, where this rum can be purchased. Maybe one day………..

Anyway, instead of me dreaming of fame and fortune (and the sackfuls of samples Serge must get sent from all over the world) I’ll get back to the task in hand.

In the glass we are presented with a light golden brown spirit a shade or two darker than straw/white wine.

On the nose I agree with what Serge said in so much as getting ” Kerosene, olive brine, liquorice, lime, tar and bergamots”. Apart from the Bergamots but only because I don’t know what they are….I’ve looked it up and yes I do get citrus as well.

I would say one of the reasons Serge is so keen on this rum, is it’s more savoury, more malty character. If someone nosed this and said they thought it was Scotch Whisky I wouldn’t be surprised. This note is especially noticeable when the rum is freshly poured.

With time in the glass though, this rum changes quite dramatically. It still retains those savoury whisky-esque notes but the familiar licorice and aniseed notes, of the Port Mourant distillate definitely develop.

It’s a big rum that also gets sweeter in the glass – there’s also a slightly smoky oily note in there as well. Sultanas and a touch of raisin, nail varnish, floor polish, white pepper, spicy oak, a touch of vanilla……..the kitchen sink. Maybe.

This really has SO much going on with the nose. It’s so complex and interesting. I’m almost getting different notes depending on which side of my nose I sniff on. Please note at this point I have a deviated septum. So that might just be me and my wonky nose.

It’s a wonderful nose and one which you can spend ages with just taking in the different aromas.

But I haven’t got time for that when I have a review to complete and score to hand out.

Sipping The Duchess Guyana 27 Years Old Rum is a similarly pleasant experience. Now I am not in much doubt that this rum has spent most of its time maturing in Europe. It is also a quite “woody” and very dry rum. It’s been in a barrel for a long time so it has taken on a lot of the wood character.

That said it is still quite fruity and the wonderful licorice and aniseed notes still prevail and balance this out.

On the initial entry the rum is spicy but not overpoweringly so. Like the initial nosing it’s quite “whisky-esque” to begin with. There’s a lot of wood and barrel influence here. It’s spicy with notes of black pepper and red chilli.

The mid palate is much softer however and nicely balanced. Here we get some olives and a kind of salty licorice note. There is a smoky tobacco note – maybe like pipe tobacco. Light citrus fruits as well some sweetish lemon/lime mix.

Finish wise it fades out quite gently. Despite being 50.1% ABV this is a softer rum overall than I was expecting. It’s almost as if all that time resting in the oak has tempered the ABV so it drinks more like a 43% rum rather than something over 50% ABV. It’s slightly floral on the finish with a really pleasant easy going feel to it.

This is a very complex rum and not one that I would rush. It’s definitely a slow sipper. Something to savour. It’s a great start to 2021 for The Duchess with this bottling.

If I were more fond of Scotch Whisky than I am Bourbon, I suspect I would enjoy this even more than I have. So that is something to bear in mind.

It’s a great start to 2021 for The Duchess with this bottling.