Guyanese Rum (Demerara Distillers Ltd.; SMWS R2.19 "Rumalicious")

 

The last rum from Guyana I had was also a single cask offering from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), which occasionally has other spirits on offer, like gin or rum or rye or Armagnac. 

This is an 18 year old rum, which is easily the oldest I've ever had, from Demerara Distillers Ltd., which continues to use 200+ year old wooden stills to make their rum. It's bottled at 60.9% ABV, which is astonishing for 18 years in the barrel in, presumably, a tropical climate. 

Guyanese rum (SWMS R2.17 "Staggering Bravado")

 

From time to time I explore spirits other than Scotch whisky. It's good to broaden your palate, try new things, see what else is out there - and when you come back, it gives you a renewed appreciation for old favorites, and sometimes a new slant on flavor. 

I recently had a fantastic (and extremely funky) overproof Jamaican rum (Hampden Estates) from Smith and Cross, a London bottler, and decided to try again with a type of rum I've never had - Guyanese rum made on the east bank of Demerara river in the capital of Georgetown.