Distilia Diamond The Golden Age of Piracy Captain Benjamin Hornigold 1996

Leckere und komplexe Guyana-Abfüllung, mit viel Karamell, Schokolade und Früchten. In der Nase zudem Vanille, Klebstoff, Gewürze und Holz-/Fassaromen. Im Gaumen wird aus der dunklen Schokolade eher Milchschokolade, was sehr interessant schmeckt. Zu den in der Nase wahrgenommenen Aromen kommen Kaffee und Piment. Im Abgang schmeckt man Kekse. Leider wirkt der Rum trotz seines grandiosen Geschmacks etwas verwässert. Ein höherer ABV hätte deutlich besser gewirkt 2. Verkostung: finde ihn jetzt besser; wirkt nicht mehr verwässert. Der Alkohol ist einfach super eingebunden! +1 Pkt

Great nose with lots of caramel, vanilla sweetness, oak wood, some coffee, dried fruit...the rum is extremely helped by a slightly longer time in the glass, a very pleasant aroma spectrum opens up on the palate with increasing oxidation. Caramel and vanilla provide a pleasant sweetness, along with woody notes, a pleasant spiciness and dried fruit again. Slightly fresher and spicier than the other Diamond releases of the vintage, compared to the tropically aged releases with less opulent aromas from the oak barrel. The DNA of the '96 Diamonds is recognizable, with a more delicate character than many of its sister releases from the recent past. I needed some time to get to grips with the rum, but in direct comparison with other recent 1996 Diamond releases in particular, I recognize some exciting and, in a positive sense, independent notes in this bottling.

Little random 96 Diamond cross tasting. For the uncolored (presumably continental) contenders: Precious Liquors White Cat vs. Distillia Hornigold. On the nose the Distillia is ahead by quite some margin. Both are similar in character, yet the Distillia delivers way more column sweetness/coconut with tropical fruits and glue while the PL is more closed up on the nose and more dominated by wood as well as some alcohol. Similar profiles on the palate. Toffee, coconut, dried fruits as well as some sweetness. Again, I prefer the Distillia release which is more balanced with individual aromas presented nicely. Yet it is als more delicate / thinner and a bit more sweet. The PL adds more woody and spices notes to the mix, but lacks complexity and balance for me in comparison.

You can somehow recognize the Diamond DNA, but in a very toned-down, softened form. I would have expected more complexity.

Very pleasant rum, elegant and of great quality. Given the long aging, however, I would have expected more complexity. In any case this is a great quality rum to absolutely try.

Blind wäre ich allein von der 👃 vermutlich bei Foursquare gelandet. Getr. Früchte, Kokosnuss, Vanille, Karamell und Gewürze und alles ordentlich süß. Am Gaumen dann sehr unspektakulär. Vanille, Karamell, Gewürze, aber alles ziemlich lasch. Haut mich nicht vom Hocker...

Pleasant nose with a nice caramel sweetness, dried fruits and some wood. On the palate, the beautiful caramel sweetness is found again, some wood, dried fruits and spicy notes come to the fore.

A very sweet Guyana from 1996, yet another one of those nice but for me overly sweet old Guyana rums. I don't dislike this on principle but I would not pay this price for a bottle. Still it is not terrible.

Sweet weak diamond

I don't know why, but it reminds me of slightly charred Christmas cookies that have been baked too long. Certainly continental ripening for the color. Not quite my cup of tea! 🫠 Guyana simply needs tropical ripening...