La Bonne Intention 1998 - Demerara - Velier - 55,6%
Photo taken somewhere near Stuttgart
That name's wonderful music to our ears, both literally and figuratevely, when cornerning the history and background of this legend. Uitvlugt 1988 was rare, LBI 1998 is amongst the rarest of the rare. In 2004, only one cask with 276 bottles was released by Velier. With 16 years gone by, you can do the maths how few bottles are still to be found today. The appropriate mark LBI (not PM as wrongly stated on the backlabel), means that Yesu Persaud from Diamond tried to reproduce it true to the style and recipe of the LBI distillery, which was closed in 1959.
Nose
Who allowed this witchcraft ?! Lord have mercy on us. Never in a thousand years does this feel like an only 9 year old spirit, black Demerera magic it is! The bouquet is fat and rich, uber-complex and jam-packed with dark fruits and sweets, like dried plums and figs, caramelized dates, thick molasses and a lot of liquorice. Over everything hovers a mysterious note of smoke, like we've never experienced it in rum territorries. Everytime you shake the glass, new flavours tumble out, like with a magic box. This time: elegant perfume notes of sandalwood, orris and the best cuban tobacco. Wait, there is also a fresh nuance of camphor, cloves and myrrh, leaning a bit towards swedish bitters. This date isn't meant to be rushed, we're in for a deep and sophisticated conversation.
Palate
By the potion of Getafix and Asterix! We just got bewitched by a highly concentrated bittersweet, super oily and sticky juice, that confirms most of the dark flavours we had on the nose. The sweetness and bitterness are synergizing into a perfect interaction. No sharpness, no offnotes, just magnificence. Moreover, we taste carob, cocoa and pronounced manioc and tamarrind flavours that we also found in some Uitvlugts and in Skeldon 1978. What's also stunning is the mature mouthfeel that occupies the palate and rules with richness and heaviness.
Finish
Long but not endless, yet really dry and perfectly bitter with heavily roasted espresso beans (when chewed), liquorice, old grapefruit peels and a slight dirtiness of rubber and tarr. Lovers of Port Ellen and Ledaig would battle for this dram.
Rating
Those old Velier Demeraras are like the red pill in the first Matrix movie. Once tasted the truth, there is no way back and nothing is as it once was. It's inconceivable that DDL is most likely still sitting on an incredible stock of treasures and throwing them into their sugared El Dorado bottlings, while the global rum society just craves for such barrels. Since Mr. Persaud has retired, who in this company can we convince (or bribe) to make them rethink their current business strategy? Joking aside. Despite common belief rarity doesn't always assure quality. But rest assured this dram was certainly the best under 10 years spirit we've ever had the pleasure to sacrifice our palate for.
