ALBION AN 2004 60,1% EL DORADO RARE COLLECTION

Distilled in 2004 on the French Savalle still and aged 14 years in Tropical weather, this was bottled in 2018 as part of the El Dorado Rare Collection series.

Albion is a small village in Guyana, the territory where the Albion Sugar Estate is located, currently owned by Guysuco. The distillery closed in 1968, but unlike others, its stills were never transferred. By the way the production of the "Albion style", continued at Uitvlugt distillery, that after assuming the rights for the distillation, chose the versatility of the Savalle still with four columns, able of producing nine different marks, including the AN that identifies the "Albion style". 

Even though at Uitvlugt distillery there was also a wooden coffee still dating back to the 80s, due to missing information and altered translations occurred here and there over the years, there is little precise information arrived to the present day. The wooden continuous still associated with Uitvlugt, and last still of this kind in the world still living, is the one that was transferred at Enmore distillery when it closed in 1993, although almost all the vintages predate this.

Uitvlugt closed in 2000 and its still operating stills transferred to the Diamond Distillery. 

THE BRAND

Demerara Distillers Ltd (DDL), founded in 1770 along the Demerara River 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.

Known today as  the “Heritage Stills”, they represent a delightful dive into the history.