Aroma visualization from community tastings
Distilia Diamond The Golden Age of Piracy Captain Benjamin Hornigold 1996
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Here's the surprise: 26 years old and cask strength, yet the recurring complaint is that it drinks thin and a touch watery. Expect caramel, vanilla, milk chocolate and dried fruit with a whiff of glue and coffee. Several tasters see the classic Diamond DNA, just in a softer, more delicate form. Pleasant and sweet, but less complex than the age suggests.
The community says- Caramel and chocolate
- Recognizable Diamond DNA
- Keep in mind: Drinks thin
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Returns & cancellation Secure payment Sold by Absolutely Nuts Spirits
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Offers & prices
No shop currently delivers to Germany.
Auction results: 122–221 € (48 sales in 24 months, incl. buyer's premium, latest 09/2026). How the range is built ›
The look inside the bottle
How does Distilia Diamond The Golden Age of Piracy Captain Benjamin Hornigold 1996 taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
Sweet, elegant Diamond that drinks thinner than expected Most find it tasty and elegant with caramel, chocolate and dried fruit, but many wish it hit harder — for a 26-year cask-strength Diamond it reads thin and a bit watered-down.
Aroma profileFans of sweet, softer continental Guyana rums
Those wanting bold, full-bodied Diamond power
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
18 of 32 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
Buying advice
Is it right for you?
Yes, if you're after bold, mature, oaky rums for sipping neat.
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What does the community say?
32 community reviews
Rating scale & review checks
On RumX, 7 means “Good” and 8 means “Very good”.
See the full rating guideHow ratings are made and how we check them ›The website shows a selection of written reviews. The distribution also includes ratings without text. All published reviews are available in the RumX app.
17 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 32 ratings, including those without text.
Review by Jakob
Most helpful positive review
Great nose with lots of caramel, vanilla sweetness, oak wood, some coffee, dried fruit...the rum is extremely helped by a slightly longer time in the glass, a very pleasant aroma spectrum opens up on the palate with increasing oxidation. Caramel and vanilla provide a pleasant sweetness, along with woody notes, a pleasant spiciness and dried fruit again. Slightly fresher and spicier than the other Diamond releases of the vintage, compared to the tropically aged releases with less opulent aromas from the oak barrel. The DNA of the '96 Diamonds is recognizable, with a more delicate character than many of its sister releases from the recent past. I needed some time to get to grips with the rum, but in direct comparison with other recent 1996 Diamond releases in particular, I recognize some exciting and, in a positive sense, independent notes in this bottling.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Most helpful mixed review
I don't know why, but it reminds me of slightly charred Christmas cookies that have been baked too long. Certainly continental ripening for the color. Not quite my cup of tea! 🫠 Guyana simply needs tropical ripening...
Review by Timo Groeger
Another Caroni in a moment, this one first :) In any case, vanilla (dark) chocolate and caramel on the nose. Also a slight sweetness on the palate. Vanilla and liquorice are recognizable, as well as some coffee and wood. Winner of the day so far, but Caroni is coming soon :)
Review by LukaŽiga
8,4:On the nose, toasted wood with butterscotch, confectionery, toffee, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, praline, spicy vanilla, as we notice strong barrel impact, some glue, lemon peel and coconut, flowery molasses, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, dried fruits like raisins and apricots arise, the molasses is sweet with honey, musty, dark with black tea, roastedness brings caramelized tones, leather, allspice joins, some metallic patina. 8:On the palate, the attack is buttery, slightly dry with toasted wood notes like caramel, milk chocolate, coffee, later cocoa, slightly smoky and bitter, spicy with allspice, vanilla, fruits like dried, candied, as the molasses is vegetal, musty, dark and rather thick with licorice, black tea. 8:The finish is long, rather dull, dry and tannic, less fruity, as charred, burnt oak, smoky, spicy, overpowers minty molasses. Edit:3.6.26
Review by Skyfly
Delicious and complex Guyana bottling, with lots of caramel, chocolate and fruit. The nose also has vanilla, glue, spices and wood/barrel aromas. On the palate, the dark chocolate turns into milk chocolate, which tastes very interesting. The aromas perceived on the nose are joined by coffee and allspice. You can taste cookies on the finish. Unfortunately, the rum seems somewhat watered down despite its great taste. A higher ABV would have worked much better 2nd tasting: I find it better now; no longer seems watered down. The alcohol is simply superbly integrated! +1 point
Review by Fred Tillac
👃 = On the nose I have wood, honey, vanilla, lemon, orange, coconut and a bit of caramel.. 👄 = On a spicy and a bit oily base, I also have dried fruits, coffee and more wood on the palate. The length is correct with a mix of mentholated sweetness and pepper. We have here a very pleasant rum 👍
Review by Basti
Blindfolded, I would probably have ended up at Foursquare just from the 👃. Fruits, coconut, vanilla, caramel and spices and all very sweet. Very unspectacular on the palate. Vanilla, caramel, spices, but it's all pretty limp. Doesn't knock my socks off... Edit: Another slight downward correction. Unfortunately, this is the worst '96 Diamond I've had in my glass so far.
Review by DomM
Little random 96 Diamond cross tasting. For the uncolored (presumably continental) contenders: Precious Liquors White Cat vs. Distillia Hornigold. On the nose the Distillia is ahead by quite some margin. Both are similar in character, yet the Distillia delivers way more column sweetness/coconut with tropical fruits and glue while the PL is more closed up on the nose and more dominated by wood as well as some alcohol. Similar profiles on the palate. Toffee, coconut, dried fruits as well as some sweetness. Again, I prefer the Distillia release which is more balanced with individual aromas presented nicely. Yet it is als more delicate / thinner and a bit more sweet. The PL adds more woody and spices notes to the mix, but lacks complexity and balance for me in comparison.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Sweet weak diamond
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#6804 17.05.2026 Relaxing after a little recovery walk after yesterdays gruelling hiking trail. Listening to some nice tracks on Spotify. This is a pretty good rum and the price tag is Ok in my mind. This is also a collectors item I think. A rum with nice fruits, honey, fruits, roasted wood and some tobacco. There is a natural sweetness in the profile.
Review by Johannes
You can somehow recognize the Diamond DNA, but in a very toned-down, softened form. I would have expected more complexity.
Review by zabo
Distilia has a nice nose. The Diamond DNA is already recognizable. Unfortunately, here comes a but again. On the palate, it feels a bit thin and washed out. With a few more percent, there probably would have been more.
Review by ilRummista
Very pleasant rum, elegant and of great quality. Given the long aging, however, I would have expected more complexity. In any case this is a great quality rum to absolutely try.
Review by Andi
Pleasant nose with a nice caramel sweetness, dried fruits and some wood. On the palate, the beautiful caramel sweetness is found again, some wood, dried fruits and spicy notes come to the fore.
Review by Michael Schou
#1813 27-07-2026 - Rate 8.6 Warmup to a Hampden Titans tasting. First rum was a surprise since the rest of Rum X was less found of it then we were. I really enjoyed this one. Great nose as in really great. Taste missing a bit on the ABV. But still a great taste
Review by Steph Genlee
A very chocolatey nose, it's very pronounced. On the palate, it's a sweet profile with caramel, vanilla aromas, and dried fruits. A very pleasant rum, I really enjoyed it. I just regret a finish that is too timid.
Review by Stijn Zino
Way to thin, misses power. Real shame reducing this.
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
A very sweet Guyana from 1996, yet another one of those nice but for me overly sweet old Guyana rums. I don't dislike this on principle but I would not pay this price for a bottle. Still it is not terrible.
Distilia Diamond The Golden Age of Piracy Captain Benjamin Hornigold 1996 at live auctions
A bid is not a final price: the house sets the buyer's premium, shipping and any customs duty.
All live auctions ›Community shelf
25 bottles logged by 13 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
16% opened, 2 emptied.
What does Distilia Diamond The Golden Age of Piracy Captain Benjamin Hornigold 1996 cost?
Community paid 136–250 €.
Current best price: 250.00 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 159 €. Price history with 48 auction results in RX+ ›
25 purchased · 32 tasted · 10 wishlist · as of
Details about Distilia Diamond The Golden Age of Piracy Captain Benjamin Hornigold 1996
A rum from Guyana, bottled by Distilia, at 50,2%.
How do you read a Diamond bottle? The RumX guide ›
Read on in the RumX Guide
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