Stats: This is an old selection from Faultline, the house label from K&L Wines in CA that has released ~60 independent bottlings covering a wide spectrum of spirits, 9 of which were rum. I’ve had a few of them including a 1994 Guyana from Uitvlugt, a St Lucia pot still, and a couple 2000 Hampden’s. While Faultline still exists as a brand, K&L’s rum barrel suppliers now prefer the selections be released under their own labels (most notably, Golden Devil, the US counterpart to Hunter Laing’s Kill Devil).
This particular release contains rum that was distilled in Guyana in 1989 at the Enmore Estate, which aged 25 years. It does not disclose where it was aged or which still was used, but likely candidates are the Enmore wooden coffey still or Versailles wooden pot still as both resided at Enmore in 1989. The uniqueness of this expression certainly lends itself to a wooden still, and based on my (albeit limited) experience in this field, I’m leaning towards it being Enmore still.
The rum was released at cask strength of 51.3% ABV in an unspecified edition from a single barrel. Let’s dive in…
Conditions: Enjoyed neat in a Glencairn over several sessions.
Nose: Toffee, rich caramel, brown sugar, dusty attic, leather bound books, tobacco, saw dust, wet forest, black currant, cherry cough syrup, orange oil, cut grass, fresh soil, cotton candy, and a sour lactic note.
Palate: Silky mouthfeel with moderate heat, cherry lozenge, leather, cracked pepper, orange liqueur, vanilla bean, spruce tips, tart citrus, rubber, burnt caramel, tobacco, Band-Aid. Long lasting raspberry syrup and blueberry donut.
Final Thoughts: This is very approachable, complex and balanced compared to other 80s/90s Guyana rums I’ve tried that tend to be either industrial funk bombs or very soft in profile. This has so much character and certainly benefits from prolonged time airing out to open up. I have only one pour left and will be sad when it is gone.
My Rating: 5/5
My Scale:
1 – I don’t want this in my mouth ever again
2 – Underwhelming
3 – Decent tipple
4 – Very enjoyable
5 – I always want a bottle of this on my shelf
Austin Rum Society 
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