ENMORE ELCR 1995 16 YEARS OLD 61,2% VELIER

Enmore Sugar Estate was founded by Edward Henry Potter in the early 19th century after inheriting and converting his father’s cotton plantation. Situated on the east bank of the Demerara river, the mark EHP was originally used to identify rums from the distillery annexed to the factory. His orginal still, the two-column wooden coffey still, dates back to 1880. After the Guyana’s government decision to close most of the distilleries and nationalise the rum production in 1974, it was one of only four still active, receiving also the single wooden pot still from the Versailles distillery after his closure in 1978.

Enmore was shutterd in 1994 and its stills transferred to Diamond Distillery.

Distilled in 1995, aged for 16 years in tropics and bottled in February 2011, according to the label, this is the “last distillation at Enmore Plantation”. Moreover the mark ELCR, even though Velier lists this as column-distilled, add an aura of mistery to this iconic bottle.

One of 2415 bottles.

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.

And the meeting between Yesu Persaud and Luca Gargano, patron of Velier, will lead in the collaboration that has marked a milestone in the history of rum.

The big turning point came when Yesu Persaud agreed to sell a part of the DDL stock to Luca Gargano, giving him the opportunity to be the only one in the world to date, to be able to select among thousands of barrels of the "Warehouse n.1", the warehouse with the most precious ones. And just that selection made arrive to present days, among the others, bottles from alembics that we thought we’d lost forever, giving life to what is melancholy defined as "The Age of Velier’s Demerara".

A short but intense collaboration, which gave birth to a legendary series of which this incredible rum is part of.

THE BOTTLER

Velier was founded by the Chaix family in Genova in 1947 as a small traditional company specialised in the importation and distribution of wines, champagnes and spirits. In 1983, a young Luca Gargano, former brand ambassador for Saint James at that time, acquired shares in Velier. Under his influence the company began spacialising in the importation of outstanding spirits exclusively destinated to the Italian market. By the early 90s Luca heard about a legendary stock of Saint James rum dating back probably to 1885 and bottled in 1952. After a complex negotiation, he finally managed to acquire the entire stock. This was only the first of a list of legendary selections to come in the following years.