Different stills that are used?

[M.R.J.]

Dear Mr. Canto,

I am wondering if you could tell me are all the different famous Guyanese stills that are often mentioned still used for rum production in the 21st century?

By famous stills I am referring to pot and column stills that bear the name of the old estate they originated from - Enmore, Versailles, Uitvlugt, Port Morant, Skeldon, La Bonne, to mention those known to me. I sincerely hope that all of these historical still are with us and used in production today.

Sir, I would also like to add that indeed as someone already suggested on this forum, releasing single cask/single still rums at cask strength might be something to consider for Demerara Distillers. Albeit being a big fan of your 21-year old rum, I do hunt single barrel / single still releases of Demerara rum from a number of independent bottlers, and such releases are often the most interesting in variety of flavour and style. This may be a niche market for true connoisseurs but such special releases strenghten the brand I think.

Releasing single barrel, single distillery products that are cask strength and not filtered has been a fairly common practice already for a decade or more. Independent Italian and UK bottlers have done the same with rums, and their bottlings can be truly stunning. The last bottle of Demerara I bought was an Italian independently bottled Port Morant, and having tasted this I can only say that my personal appreciation of Guyanese rums elevated to a whole new level.

Sincerely,

M.R.J.

[M.R.J.]

Oh well, after more than 6 months I guess it is safe to assume Mr. Canto no longer reads this forum - a real pity.

[rum bluff]

In the states we see European sites with many of these independent bottlers and have not a clue as to which of the half dozen or so are the winners. With your EU prices and shipping its hard to experiment. If you've got a couple favorites please share and I'll help the Eu economy.
Thanks,
Tom

[Paulipbartender]

Without presuming to speak on behalf of Karl Kanto, DDL operate 9 different stills that bear the old distillery names. Most of them are available in Europe as 'cask strength' bottlings. They love them in Italy particularly. There are also 3 El Dorado single barrel bottlings of each of the 3 wooden stills.

If you're interested the 9 stills are;

Double wooden pot
Single wooden pot
Wooden coffey
Copper pot
Copper column
& 4 Savalle stills (fancy name for a column still with adjustable plates)

Tiare wrote a very detailed and fascinating breakdown of the DDL operation on her blog if you're interested.

Hope this helps chief

[rum bluff]

oh how right you are! Tiare has done a great job of occuping my afternoon.

Thank Again,
Tom

[M.R.J.]

I can recommend quite highly the Cadenhead's Green Label 25yo Demerara, this I have tasted and it is a mountain of flavours in a good way!!

Cadenhead's Green Label Demerara review (http://www.refinedvices.com/forum_/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=319)

Only thing is, the batches may vary in flavour - caveat emptor..still, I doubt they would release a bad one.

There is another very nice Demerara from Bristol Spirits, a 17yo Port Morant, portwood finished. Bristol Spirits Port Morant (http://www.refinedvices.com/forum_/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=318)

[RonJames]

I can recommend quite highly the Cadenhead's Green Label 25yo Demerara, this I have tasted and it is a mountain of flavours in a good way!!

Cadenhead's Green Label Demerara review (http://www.refinedvices.com/forum_/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=319)

Only thing is, the batches may vary in flavour - caveat emptor..still, I doubt they would release a bad one.

There is another very nice Demerara from Bristol Spirits, a 17yo Port Morant, portwood finished. Bristol Spirits Port Morant (http://www.refinedvices.com/forum_/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=318)

This one has caught my eye for awhile MRJ, does anybody know if the bristol rum is aged in scotland or in the caribbean? Makes a big difference when you look at the angel's share.

[M.R.J.]

The Bristol Spirits rums for the most part are aged in cellars in Bristol, but to my understanding at least some of the more recent Caroni bottlings are actually aged in the Caribbean, not in UK. (Proud to say I did some minor background work on helping to get the old Trinidadian Caroni rums some final glory and exposure through such small batch bottlings!!)

This website Bristol Spirits new rums (http://www.simonaskey.com/) will show you the current selections, some of the older bottlings can still be found in the shops also on occasion.

I really can recommend this Port Morant as a very fine expression of Demerara.

[JMac]

Hi MRJ...have you tried some of the Caroni bottlings? They piqued my interest but due to the conversation rate of Euros to CDN dollars...I would like to hear some recommendations first.....

[RonJames]

Thanks MRJ, I'm going to have to dive in, you've peaked my interest. The Caroni plant in trini was that the one that burned down? I've been really sick over the weekend and my head feels like Michael Phelp's right now.

[Tiare]

Hi MRJ...have you tried some of the Caroni bottlings? They piqued my interest but due to the conversation rate of Euros to CDN dollars...I would like to hear some recommendations first.....

I`m also interested in trying the Caroni rums, and maybe Count Silvio can have something to say here as i think he has tried one or two of them?

T

[Count Silvio]

Yep:
http://www.refinedvices.com/forum_/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=195
http://www.refinedvices.com/forum_/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=341

[El Dorado]

Dear Mr. Canto,

I am wondering if you could tell me are all the different famous Guyanese stills that are often mentioned still used for rum production in the 21st century?

By famous stills I am referring to pot and column stills that bear the name of the old estate they originated from - Enmore, Versailles, Uitvlugt, Port Morant, Skeldon, La Bonne, to mention those known to me. I sincerely hope that all of these historical still are with us and used in production today.

Sir, I would also like to add that indeed as someone already suggested on this forum, releasing single cask/single still rums at cask strength might be something to consider for Demerara Distillers. Albeit being a big fan of your 21-year old rum, I do hunt single barrel / single still releases of Demerara rum from a number of independent bottlers, and such releases are often the most interesting in variety of flavour and style. This may be a niche market for true connoisseurs but such special releases strenghten the brand I think.

Releasing single barrel, single distillery products that are cask strength and not filtered has been a fairly common practice already for a decade or more. Independent Italian and UK bottlers have done the same with rums, and their bottlings can be truly stunning. The last bottle of Demerara I bought was an Italian independently bottled Port Morant, and having tasted this I can only say that my personal appreciation of Guyanese rums elevated to a whole new level.

Sincerely,

M.R.J.

Dear MRJ,
Sorry I did not replied to you earlier.
Yes some of these stills are still used in our operation as per se such like the wooden EHP continuous wooden still, the wooden PM double pot still and the wooden single pot VSG pot still. These stills are identical to the ones used on the then plantation distilleries. Of course the wood and other parts have been changed frm time to time but the system has remained the same. Some of the other marke are made on the 4 colums Savalle still and the 2 column metal coffey still. These were the lighter and medium bodied rums that we found that can be reproduced on these stills giving the same characteristics like what were made on the various estates.
\you see when rum was produced on the individuals estates they were given a name to identify it to that particular sugar estate. When consolidation took place we found a few estates produced identical type of products hence the most popular of the marks was kept. Whot was also found was that some of the still could have replicate identically a few of the marks hence it was not necessary to keep all 250+ stills from all the estate distilleries. What is important to note is that all the rums we produce now with those marks are identical to the said marks produced 350+ years ago same quality, same taste, same aromas. To be noted there were a few marks that could not be replicated on any other still hence the retention ok the wooden stills.

With respect to the single casks suggestins / comments, these are noted. The world of rum is always evolving so there is always room for somethings different. Let's wait and see. An appetite opened with great expectations
best enjoys the meal.

[Rum Runner]

Carl. It is nice to see you back here on the forum and thank you for the good information on the types of stills employed by DDL.

For good reasons member M.R.J. is no longer active here.

Your continued participation in this forum is valued and appreciated.

Saludos!

[RonJames]

Carl thank you so much for replying to MRJ's question. Even though he is not with us I am sure that he is delighted at the information you present. If you ever do produce a single still/single barrel I would line right up behind MRJ and others to buy them. It would be fun to taste the individual rums and what they give to the blended masterpieces you produce. I also love history and think it would be a further glimpse into your country's rich rum history. Thank you again for taking time and participating on this forum. you rock.gif

[El Dorado]

Carl thank you so much for replying to MRJ's question. Even though he is not with us I am sure that he is delighted at the information you present. If you ever do produce a single still/single barrel I would line right up behind MRJ and others to buy them. It would be fun to taste the individual rums and what they give to the blended masterpieces you produce. I also love history and think it would be a further glimpse into your country's rich rum history. Thank you again for taking time and participating on this forum. you rock.gif


Thanks Ron and Rum Runner. It is fantastic to know yhat you are amongs friends, people who appreciate what little you have to share / contribute. Sorry to hear that MRJ is no longer with us.
Ron, we do produce single still rums - we produce a single still ICBU rum which is from the Savalle still and was originally produced at Uitvlugt distillery, a single still EHP rum which is from the wooden continuous Coffey still and was originally produced at Enmore distillery and a single still PM rum which is from the double wooden pot still and was originally produced at Port Mourant distillery. You would be surprise to see how different these individual rums are as compared to the blended El Dorado (Demerara) rums. It goes to show that with the correct composition and good blending how different your rums can be.

[Hank Koestner]

Thank you very much Carl for taking the time to provide this info, and to the members who ask great questions. This thread was an excellent read. I have a bottle of the PM Single Barrel, and i love it. On the drier side which I like, and full of rich flavors. I would purchase any single barrel from El Dorado, no questions asked. It is just that they are hard to find.

[rumdog007]

Thanks Ron and Rum Runner. It is fantastic to know yhat you are amongs friends, people who appreciate what little you have to share / contribute. Sorry to hear that MRJ is no longer with us.
Ron, we do produce single still rums - we produce a single still ICBU rum which is from the Savalle still and was originally produced at Uitvlugt distillery, a single still EHP rum which is from the wooden continuous Coffey still and was originally produced at Enmore distillery and a single still PM rum which is from the double wooden pot still and was originally produced at Port Mourant distillery. You would be surprise to see how different these individual rums are as compared to the blended El Dorado (Demerara) rums. It goes to show that with the correct composition and good blending how different your rums can be.

Carl thank you very much for the time which you have taken to respond to our forum. I missed the introduction of the single barrel rums when they were first available in the US. It was largely my fault for not paying attention. But, the good news is that I found a reserve of all 3 of the Single Barrel offerings in the San Francisco Bay area. I have purchased 3 full sets. It is a guilty pleasure of mine to dip into these rums. Much has been written on the forum about their value as a "study" of the elements of blending. While I concur, fully, with that notion, I also find all 3 special for what they are, very, tasty, good rums.

I second Hank's remark that I would love a steady source for this solid line of rums! cheers.gif