UITVLUGT ULR 1997 17 YEARS OLD 59,7% VELIER

The Uitvlugt distillery was founded around 1750 in the homonymous town of British Guyana on the banks of Demerara river. At that time protectorate of Holland, it takes its name from Ignatius Uitvlugt, a rich Dutch planter, who owned an enormous sugar plantation. The rapid nationalization of the sugar factories and their distilleries in 1974, with the consequent flight of foreign capital, created tremendous management difficulties, which led the Government to decide to dismantle the various distilleries, leaving only one active.

Originally operating double wooden pot stills, these were replaced by a four column French Savalle still in 1920s. In 1950s Port Mourant distillery was also dismantled by Government’s decision and its double wooden pot still, transferred to Uitvlugt. In 1994, the Enmore distillery suffered the same fate and its EHP wooden coffey still and Versailles single wooden pot still, were also moved to Uitvlugt.

The Uitvlugt distillery closed at the end of 1999 and its precious stills, know to date as the “Heritage Stills”, transferred to Demerara Distillers ltd. The unique mark used to identify Uitvlugt rum is ICBU, acronym for Ignatius Charles Bourda Uitvlugt. 

Distilled in 1997, aged 17 years in tropics and bottled full proof in 2014.

One of 1404 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.