The Diamond Distillery in Guyana is the culmination of a rich history of Rum making that stretches back to the
1650s. At one point there were over
300 sugar estates, each with its own still that was producing
Rum.
However, over the centuries, a process of amalgamation saw the various estates combine, with only a number of important stills surviving the test of time.
The
heritage stills as they are now known have all been relocated to Diamond Distillery on the banks of the
Demerara River under the governance of
Demerara Distillers Limited.
In
1983 Diamond Liquors merged with Guyana Distilleries to form Demerara Distilleries.
The heritage stills are the Enmore Wooden Coffey Still, the Versailles Single Wooden Pot Still, the Port Mourant Double Wooden Pot Still and a multi-column French Savalle Still.
The DDL facility now has a total of 12 stills, each producing a characterful distillate that cannot be reproduced elsewhere, comprising Rums such as
El Dorado.
The distillery also has more modern, multi-column continuous distillation facility, which is fed from an extensive fermentation plant that processes the molasses produced from Guyana’s extensive sugar industry.
The facility has the capacity to churn out 26 million liters of alcohol annually, making them one of the biggest bulk producers in the Carribean.
The heavy, characterful Rums produced by DDL are suitable for long aging and the facility has
some of the oldest stocks of Rum in the world. It’s aging houses holding in excess of
250,000 barrels.
Guyana’s Rum-making longevity is due in no small part to its contracts to supply the British Royal Navy for over
three centuries, but without the heritage stills, the demand wouldn’t have lasted from as long as it did.