A Living Legend

When Luca Gargano was allowed to enter the warehouses of Demerara Distiller in search of the soul of Guyana's aged rum, he found the equivalent of 4 casks of Skeldon distilled in 1973 and 3 casks distilled in 1978 (the angels' share deducted). He then decided to blend them, leaving the natural degree to preserve all the essence and authenticity of the product. These two rums are unfortunately now out of print, remaining only the memories of the few people who have tasted them...  This is the oldest vintage released to date by Luca Gargano and Velier, with 32 years spent in the tropics (the Port Mourant 1972 is slightly older but aged partially in England).

Price : priceless? this rum is part of history and it is therefore extremely difficult to find it today, and when it happens you have to pay several hundred euros (from 700€ to infinity). 544 bottles were released in cask strength at 60.5°.

Age : Distilled in 1973 and bottled in April 2005, after 32 years in the tropics. Pure Single Rum in its purest form…

Skeldon is originally the name of a distillery as there were 100 at the time on the banks of the Demerara River. It is said to have closed around the 1950s/60s, before its still was transferred to the Uitvlugt Distillery.

It was common at the time to transfer stills from one distillery to another (following the many closures) to continue producing rum. The Skeldon still remained there until the end of the 70s/beginning of the 80s and was then transferred to the Diamond distillery, the last and only one still open today. The still has since been dismantled (Diamond has only kept some stills including Enmore, Port Mourant, Versailles, etc.). There is therefore no more information concerning the Skeldon still, except that it was a column still model of the "Coffey Still" type.

Velier is the only bottler to offer this rum whose "mark" ( SWR for Sir William Russell, the owner of the plantation in 1804 - source ) is still produced today, using the same recipe we would say but no longer from the original still destroyed more than 40 years ago now... A new journey through time and into the history of Demerara rum.

 
This rum has a very dark amber color tending towards an impressive ruby ​​( see for yourself ) ... The green disk on the surface is there and for good reason: with 32 years spent in barrels, we can't decently expect anything else. The rum appears heavy and extremely concentrated like a very sticky resin ... Just by looking at the glass, our taste buds are already all excited and we are salivating in advance (literally!). It should be noted that DDL did not practice topping up and therefore did not have the habit of filling the evaporation with the angels' share (as is customary). There were therefore only dregs in the barrels which were assembled afterwards (imagine for a moment: it took no less than 30 barrels to make up a single complete one).

We are always excited in front of such rums because we can never remind ourselves enough but this is a unique tasting, a real piece of history, 32 years of work that fit into the bottom of a glass, in a few centilitres… How man was able to wait so long is a mystery to me… This kind of tasting is therefore also synonymous with fear because very old rums often bring out a very - or even too - invasive woodiness, spoiling the party a little, but damn what an experience! And then fortunately it is not an exact science, and it happens to come across pure wonders…

Once you shake this old grandpa, you immediately notice a sort of crown around the glass, which slowly - but surely - gives way to an army of droplets, which once round and thick, begin their slow ascent towards the bottom, in slow motion like in an old Hollywood movie. Class even in the movement... Of course the ruby ​​color of this Skeldon's dress greatly contributes to the show, and the density is extreme.

By dint of wanting to watch this show, we would almost forget to go to the nose, but yet it is already talked about and we cannot ignore it so much the smell is present. It all started when we opened the bottle, the smell preceded the rest , a concentrated nose of aromas that surprisingly does not immediately remind us of a Demerara rum. We are even impressed to find a rather 'loaded' nose and not heavy and thick as we might expect. The nuance is weak, very weak even, and the idea we have of it even before tasting plays a big part here.

The nose, therefore, opens with a mixture of freshly ground coffee bean, brown sugar, burnt caramel, old waxed/varnished wood (the demerara note?) and tobacco (cigar) , giving the whole a very warm and pleasant "smokiness". The spices are not left out, including cinnamon, cloves, and grilled and caramelized nuts (walnuts).

A nose that is not too strong but well concentrated (the nuance is, here too, important) and which quickly gives way to very ripe fruit full of sugar, mainly plum and grape. The whole thing makes me think for a moment of a soy sauce. In fact the nose changes quickly, it is a real and beautiful experience because the aromas follow one another and are not necessarily similar. The rum then opens with a delicious floral note, very intense here too; we are faced with a 32-year-old rum and we would think at this moment we were in front of a bouquet of flowers… even though the plum and grape become a little more intense still, concentrated, and delicious red fruits appear.

No heavy smell of varnish but this veil of smoke and dried fruits, grilled and melted spices always present and warm which replaces the bouquet, a nose which speaks incessantly and which seems never to want to stop. Wonderful. By closing the eyes, one has the impression of being sometimes in a rose garden sometimes in a vineyard or even in a cigar cellar. A floral and fruity nose, spicy and empyreumatic, warm as desired. A temporal and sensory journey.

After a long rest (1 to 2 hours), the Skeldon opens up even more with these notes of red fruits , especially redcurrant; the power has faded in favor of more sweetness where the spices are still present. Red fruit, milk jam, almond, and an undisguised scent of coconut. There we are! a gourmet smell of coconut ice cream under a coulis of red fruits. With the luxury and the good idea of ​​serving an espresso at the same time, with this note of mocha always present.

The attack is very concentrated, mellow (even honeyed) and powerful, fruity and spicy with always this smoky/woody side which seems to lead the dance, bringing out very clearly tobacco, melted in a very thick molasses (and even burnt). It is powerful and the tannins are unsurprisingly quite present, with a certain astringency (leaf, bitterness) but drowned in a beautiful aromatic power. The cinnamon is still there, and a more gourmand side makes its appearance (roasted almond, chocolate). A rum which requires time, and a few drops are enough to make all the aromas burst in the mouth. We keep them and study the thing always with the same idea that there are 32 years of work there, and good surprise it is not excessively woody!

The finish is extremely long and rich; the woodiness covers the entire inside of the mouth and seems to restore in small diffuse doses the rest of the aromas , in successive and salutary bursts: the very ripe fruits, nuts and dried fruits, and the whole remains in the mouth so long that one has the impression that the rum is going back and forth incessantly for several minutes...

After tasting, a very pleasant aftertaste, still woody and slightly chocolatey, seems to never want to go away. And the most impressive thing is this empty glass that continues to talk again and again and that will take several long hours to decrease in intensity (in this area the Skeldon 1978 is even more impressive but we will come back to that). And at D+3 the glass still releases a nice dose of spices and coffee! Better still, the passage of the rum reveals on the walls of the glass a sort of orange film , almost opaque, like a filter polarizing the history of this skeldon 1973. A story that is not over, and which even after 32 years continues, certainly, to participate in the myth.

It is truly amazing to see an empty glass still so eloquent… the rum is gone but its aura is still there, embedded on the walls of the glass. As if once freed from its prison, it did not want to completely leave, but to share its presence with anyone who might pass by. In 32 years, rum has learned a few magic tricks but don’t count on it to reveal any of its secrets to you… Rating: 88

To help you (and me) find your way around, regarding the notes:

90 and + : exceptional and unique rum, it is the best of the best
between 85 and 89 : highly recommended rum, with that little something that makes the difference
between 80 and 84 : recommendable rum
75-79 POINTS : above average
70-74 POINTS : in the low average
less than 70 : not very good

Review courtesy of DuRhum.com.

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