Overview
Brand: Roaming Road
Origin: Diamond Distillery, Diamond, Guyana
Still: Pot
Age: 12 years
Finish: ex-Sherry French Oak
ABV: 53.1%
Up next on our journey down the Roaming Road, we head to the nearside of South America to one of the major producers of rum. I would argue that Guyana always has a place in an independent bottler's portfolio, between the quality and the sheer amount of technical options DDL has at their disposal for producing rum.
Roaming Road Guyana 12 year is a molasses-based rum that is a product of the famed Port Mourant wooden pot still, which resides at Demerara Distillers, Ltd.'s (DDL) Diamond Distillery. The distillate was placed in a Pedro Ximenez (PX) sherry cask made of French Oak; it is unclear if the entire amount of aging occurred in this cask or if the PX cask is a finish. At any rate, after 12 years of waiting, the rum was bottled at 53.1% ABV.
Appearance
Gold, medium viscosity
Nose
Fresh green grapes, underripe green banana, molasses, touch of vanilla, model glue, grilled pineapple
Palate
Overripe red grapes, rotting paper, honeydew melon, green grapes, molasses, stewed strawberries, caramel
Finish
Medium length, fruity, dark; plums, caramel, sour red grapes, hint of cinnamon, brown sugar-covered strawberries
Rating: 9/10
Summary
With this Roaming Road Guyana, I may have found my favorite expression of Port Mourant rum. This is a fruit salad doused with caramel and molasses drizzled on top, and drinks perfectly at 106 proof.
Though it's not listed on the label, the Port Mourant-ness of the liquid jumps out upon first sniff: green grapes, underripe (green) banana, a stinging grilled pineapple, and, when inhaling long enough, a burst of airplane model glue. Molasses is there too, and appears on the palate in the middle of a barrage of slightly stuffy grapes and rotting paper that surely is the PX cask intermingly with the PM distillate. More fruits by the way of honeydew and stewed strawberries fade into dark and sticky molasses and more delicate caramel.
The finish is slightly shorter than I'd like, but it does a good job of letting the palate run its course, developing into plums, sour red grapes, a touch of cinnamon, and the combination of brown sugar and strawberries. Overall, this is delightful and integrates every competing flavor and aroma with the grace of a veteran orchestra conductor.
Of the three bottlings I've sampled so far, this is the one Roaming Road release that I will be tracking down. Excellent work by Mike/Roaming Road and Jamie/Lincoln Road.