Enmore ELCR 1995 Velier 16 Year Old

A legendary Enmore ELCR vintage 1995 16 years-old Guyana rum from Demerara Distillers Ltd. in Georgetown, bottled in February 2011 at cask strength 61.2% abv by Velier in a limited edition. This historic rum comes from the last distillation of the closed Enmore distillery and is comprised of eight casks (#7104-7105-7106-7107-7108-7109-7110-7111) selected by world-renowned independent bottler Velier and Luca Gagarno from Genoa. This is bottled from 8 casks from the final distillation at Enmore in 1995, before it closed.

The casks were marked ELCR, which usually denotes rum from the famous Enmore wooden coffey still. The label however states that this is a pot distilled rum, which is likely a mistake. The pot still at Enmore was the similarly historic Versailles wooden pot still. Both of the Enmore stills are still producing rum at their new home at Diamond. This bottling is the final distillation of the Enmore plantation before the stills were transferred to Uitvlugt. Uitvlugt itself was shut down in December 1999.

The Enmore ELCR 1995 16 Years Casks #7104-7111 Full Proof Old Demerara Rum 61,2% Vol. – a legendary bottling by Velier from the closed Distillery Enmore!

To ensure that the last remaining distilleries did not lose the battle against the competition, several companies joined forces from the 1980s onwards: first Enmore and Diamond Liquors and then Uitvlugt and Guyana. This finally resulted in the merger of the companies Demerara Distillers Limited, often called DDL. The activities were moved to the Diamond Distillery, which now houses the old stills from the inactive distilleries – including a double still from Port Mourant, a four-column Savalle still from Uitvlugt, a single still from Versailles and a Coffey still from Enmore. The molasses for the distillation is based exclusively on Demerara sugar cane from the surrounding area, the old stills are available for the distillation, which no longer exist anywhere else in the world, and so the Diamond Demerara Rum is without question a special and unique rum.

This spectacular Diamond Very Old Demerara Rum comes from a series of legendary bottlings from the short but beautiful period (2004-2015) when Velier owned a small stake in the Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), which gave Luca Gargano privileged access to the warehouses and his choice of casks for bottling. These special bottlings, in addition to the incredible Caroni bottlings, played a key role in building Velier s reputation. Sadly, the Velier and Demerara DDL era is over, but the memory lives on in these spectacular bottlings.
Almost hard to find today, this Enmore 16 years full proof old Demerara rum is one of the most sought-after rarities on the market among connoisseurs and collectors because of its unique aromas and concentration due to tropical maturation – a very potent cask strength rum from Guyana s famous lost distillery Enmore!

THE BRAND

Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), founded in 1983 as result of the merger between Diamond Liquors (Diamond Distillery) and Guyana Distillers (Uitvlugt Distillery), and currently owned by the Government of Guyana, is the only distillery still operating in the country, and owner of the largest stock of old rums in the world, which currently produces the El Dorado rum line and other excellent selections.Located near the capital Georgetown, it can rely on the highest quality of molasses, thanks to a territory that represents one of the last still unspoiled paradises, almost entirely covered in virgin Amazonian forest.Before World War II, there were still 9 distilleries active within Guyana, but after the war, 8 of them were closed by government decision.

Thanks to the farsightedness of Yesu Persaud, legendary president of the DDL, their incredible historical heritage represented by centuries-old alembics, has come down to us. All the alembics were transferred to the DDL, and to date 13 of them are still operating including 3 double columns Coffey still ‘Tricanada’, 2 modern multiple columns of Indian technology, 2 savalle still, 1 wooden double pot still (Port Mourant), 1 wooden single pot (Versailles), 1 wooden Coffey column (Enmore), 1 Wedderburn style copper still, 1 traditional copper still and 1 small gin still batch.

• Typ: Full Proof Old Demara Rum – Independent bottling

• District: Guyana / Demerara
• Vintage: 1995
• Age 16 years old
• Year bottled: February 2011
• Cask Nos: # 7104-7105-7106-7107-7108-7109-7110-7111 – stock of 8 barrels
• Alcohol ABV% 61.2 – Cask Strength
• Destillation: Wooden Coffey Still
• Bottle Size 70cl / 700ml
• Bottling Series: Vintage 1995 – Last Distillation at Enmore Plantation
• not coloured / no added sugar
• Packaging original boxed (box with traces)
• Producer/Importer: Demerara Distillers Limited, Georgetown, Guyana / Velier SpA, Via Byron 14 – 16145 Genova, Italy
• Country of Origin: Guyana
• limited, number unknown – unique bottling and very rare collector s item!