What was the thinking behind bottling at the 40-43% mark when so many Indie bottlers go for cask strength? At least that is what the first sip gives you. It’s worth persisting beyond one glass with this rum. It’s almost as if your palate needs to open up to it. The second glass is so much better. You get more of the notes that were in the nose. Despite being quite high in esters and some “funk” it has a beautiful balance which younger Jamaican rums do not have. It’s similar in many ways to Hampden Gold for example yet it also shares some of the qualities of more aged Appleton Estate rums. The finish is still pretty short but as a Jamaican sipper its not bad at the price.

Over the past few years a debate has focused around the practice of adding sugar and other additives during the production of rum. For many such alterations are viewed as entirely unacceptable.

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As the rum moves onto the finish, you notice a shift and the sweeter notes are replaced by some tannic red wine and liquorice notes. The finish is very long and warming with a lovely array of oak spices, vanilla, dark chocolate and a smoky tobacco note.

When sipped it is as expected from the nosing but the ABV gives this an extra ooomph. This really adds even further depth to the rum. The Jamaican rums in this blend come from at least two very well respected distilleries. Monymusk and Hampden Estate. Both companies do well in the domestic market but their reach outside of Jamaica is mainly through bulk rum sales to be used in blends. Both currently have rums available in the UK. Hampden Gold and Rum Fire from Hampden Estate and Monymusk have a Gold Rum on offer. Neither can match the reach or popularity of Appleton Estate. Jamaican rum is produced in such a traditional and well-regulated manner, not too mention the wonderful tropical climate that these producers would have to be doing something truly awful to be producing a bad rum. Anyway, lets take a look at what we are getting in this bottle. Mezan Diamond Distillery Guyana 2007 PX Cask Finish comes in Mezan’s rounded stubby bottle. This is a Cask Strength offering and is unsweetened, uncoloured and un-chill filtered. So the standards are set and presented prominently on the front label. No fannying about here. This is rum from a Single Cask (though I understand it is a blend of rums – we’ll come to that later). My bottle is from Cask number 1 of 3 and is bottle number 72 of 423.When deemed to have reached optimal maturity, Mezan rums are bottled with just a hint of filtration to preserve their intrinsic character. This practice underscores the cellar master's commitment to highlighting the individual craftsmanship of each distillery. In the glass Mezan Diamond Distillery Guyana 2007 PX Cask Finish is a very dark brown almost mahogany in colour. The cellar master takes care to dilute the rums only slightly, ensuring a fine balance between enjoyable tasting and the full expression of aromatic intensity. This careful adjustment allows the rums to be experienced at their finest - flavourful and aromatic without being overwhelmed by the alcohol. Thus, Mezan rums stand as a testimony to the distinct rum styles born from the azure waters and tropical climates of the Caribbean.

The initial sip is quite sweet with notes of sweet sherry, toffee, raisin and plum. This isn’t the full story though. Further sips reveal notes of tobacco, oak and some heat – a touch of green chilli/wasabi. The mid palate moves into a mix of tobacco, vanilla and sweet Rum and Raisin ice cream. With some toffee sauce maybe……. There is so much going on with this rum, it’s difficult to describe everything that you will encounter. This drinks more like a Tropically Aged Demerara than a lot of other IB’s, I have had recently. This is a rich, fruity rum which shows just how rum really doesn’t need to be artificially sweetened. A secondary maturation or finish in a quality cask will give you all the sweetness you need. Mezan Jamaica XO is, unlike all the other Mezan rums a blend rather than a Single Barrel/Cask offering. Not only is it a blend of rums it is also a blend of rums from different distilleries. It has some quite strong alcohol notes yet a quite surprising note of vanilla. I can detect some oak and woody notes, quite a lot of spice. All in all its really quite complex. Some nice tropical fruit notes and a even a hint of toffee/caramel. Mezan produces a range of rums from all of over the Caribbean and Latin America, and its latest is this offering born in Panama, which starts with column-distilled molasses that is aged in second-fill American white oak casks, then finished in Portuguese Moscatel wine casks. No sugar is added.As Managing Director of the self styled “untouched rum” Neil Mathieson has set the bar high in terms of expectation.

Now, the exact still is not stated on the bottle. It’s about the only information that isn’t available. However, it is noted on the rear label that this “rum is blended from spirit produced by several of the column stills” at the Diamond Distillery. DDL have a number of column stills (I am not 100% sure how many were operational as of 2007) including the EHP Coffey Still originally housed at the Enmore Sugar Plantation and the French Savalle still which was moved from Uitivlugt. Both stills can produced a variety of different rum marques which are used in some of the El Dorado rum brand line up. First up as you can see from the photo above this Mezan is a lot clearer in the glass than the bottle. It is almost straw like in colour and once again Mezan assure us on the label that it has not been coloured or sweetened in anyway.With the XO and vintage bottlings my preference is to offer people a product that they can drink straight. After thirty years of tasting professionally I personally never drink anything at cask strength so perhaps this has coloured my choice. This is not to say that we will not produce at other strengths but it will depend greatly on the liquid. One other point is that with no ‘enrichment’, the natural flavour is quite prominent, we continue to try to make this one of the major points in our selections. Mezan have been producing this rum blend for some years now and this is Lot No 23030 – this Lot or Batch consists of 5000 bottles. It states on the rear bottle that the rum is double matured so once it is blended it is re-casked until it is selected to be bottled. Beneath this, is a warming note of oak and some light vanilla ice cream. A touch of single cream and a slight peanut brittle type note. I’m getting shortbread and baking spices as well. It’s remarkably complex. It’s really lovely on the nose. In terms of producing untouched product Mezan Rum’s timing could not have been much better. Priced competitively and with growing interest amongst rum lovers Mezan offer an excellent gateway for the consumer who is keen to try untouched rums but whose budget perhaps does not extend to bottlings from the likes of Velier, Silver Seal and Samaroli.