Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Diamond SVW SVW 1996
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The surprise here is how a 64.6% Demerara can feel this manageable. Once you get past the initial alcohol bite, tasters find dark caramel, burnt sugar, coconut, dried fruit and deep spice, all wrapped in old polished wood. One member called it "fantastic art, a piece of" distillation. Heavy and roasted, yet oddly drinkable — several call it their favorite Guyana.
The community says- Deep caramel complexity
- Endless finish
- Alcohol well integrated
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How does Velier Diamond SVW SVW 1996 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Rich, roasted Demerara at full proof A near-legendary tropical-aged Diamond. Almost everyone finds it rich, complex and remarkably balanced for the proof; a couple felt the wood pushes a touch far. The alcohol is well integrated.
Aroma profileExperienced sippers who love heavy tropical-aged Demerara
Newcomers or anyone put off by high proof
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
31 of 79 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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What does the community say?
79 community reviews
36 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 4% of Guyana rumsTop 2% at Diamond
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Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Jakob
An intoxicating nose full of vanilla from the oak, caramel, interwoven spices - the depth of the individual aromas is breathtaking. The palate also offers a fascinating profile - again heavy sweetness full of expression away from any stickiness, dark spices, hints of tobacco and herbs, coffee, pleasant grip of the alcohol...deep, heavy, crisp, herbal, woody with a tart sweetness. Great.
Review by Oliver
For a top rating, it is a tad too floral for me. But plays in the absolute Champions League!
Review by cigares
A lively English club nose with smoke, weathered wood and old leather. A palate that, once past the alcohol's bite, reveals unprecedented complexity! The palate is completely lined with flavors. A marvel! An infinite finish and an empty glass that's so complex you might think of it as a perfume. Thanks Thomas for the sample. My best Diamond experience to date. Tasted again and still impressively balanced, delicious!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Retasting with the RumX guys and I stick to my score. ------- We had a wonderful pure Diamond tasting yesterday and what a tasting. Boom, this is how you make a good rum that has a finish lasting a few weeks. Adding a bit of water settled the alcohol heat and released the true nature and flavours.
Review by DomM
Little random 96 Diamond cross tasting. Well, I‘m always amazed how good this one is. Obviously this one is more of a treat than any other contender to this little tasting. The continentally aged Daimaonds can just not compete with this Velier staple. Rich and complex presents this bottling an amazing profile showcasing the Diamond essence.
Review by zabo
Edit: got some again from the fresh bottle that Jakob opened (the madman). Adjusted upwards Franconian Tasting Gang goes Tiki First of all, many thanks to Jakob for treating the whole group to the sample. In hindsight, I have to admit, at the price back then I would have taken it, but now I'd rather go for an Eldorado since this one isn't really much worse but costs only 1/10.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very intense, very aromatic with caramel, candied orange peel, pineapple compote and coconut/vanilla, a bit of ginger-kumquat jam. Very awesome! Just behind the 1999 for me personally but still a legendary drop! 😃
Review by TheRhumhoe
A simply monstrous Diamond. The nose is pure olfactory delight, with heavy fruitiness on coconut and raisin, the sweetness of caramel, milk chocolate, pastry and brown sugar, but also powerful spicy and spicy notes that go hand in hand with melted oak on roasted, dark aromas to match. A hint of glue and hazelnut add further depth to the nostrils. A real treat. The attack on the palate is divine, combining elegance and power to perfection. Caramel and burnt sugar are felt first, before the dark, roasted side gains ground and fills the palate with its greediness, with deep oak and beautiful notes of hazelnut and chocolate. Spices form the final bouquet with a fireworks display (nutmeg, licorice, winter spices). The profile is warm, powerful, intense but incredibly complex and delicious. The alcohol is well integrated. The finish is interminable, with that heavy, dark edge that coats the palate. Dark chocolate, coffee, hazelnut, clove, licorice, chili and vanilla offer unsurpassed deliciousness on a deep, easy-drinking profile. Glue and exotic fruits make a comeback to delight the taste buds. A mythical Diamond, heavy, gourmand, complex and easy-drinking, which has everything to please and enter the pantheon of cane spirit wonders.
Review by Johannes
One of my Guyana favorites! Great nose and also on the palate a wonderfully complex, full-bodied, tropically matured rum!
Review by Joachim Guger
Aaaaaaauuuuuugggggghhhh!!!!In the nose caramel, dried fruit, spices and the perfect load of oak. Extremely layered, powerful, complex yet balanced and quaffable.🍹In the mouth, the hammer! Bold caramel, dried apricot, licorice, pepper, etc. Caramelized in the finish (whatever that means...)SVW at it's best. This is what the perfect rum tastes like to me. Aaaahhhhh, I'll come again, my wife will be jealous....
Review by Mirco
Very nice Diamond with plenty of punch and lots of character. On the nose dark fruits, molasses, licorice, some wood and a fine herbal spice. On the palate dense and complex with dark fruit, spices, oak and a slightly bitter note. Also some wax and tobacco, which fits well with the heavy Guyana profile. Powerful, but surprisingly well balanced
Review by Aussierumfan
What a wonderful rum this one is! Just so balanced and intense. Perfect example of tropical aged Demerara! So well integrated. On the nose vanilla, fruits, chocolate and old wood. On the palate more of the same with tobacco, old leather, anise and a lovely natural sweetness. Complex. Stunning.
Review by Serge
A stunner. I could smell and sip it forever. A wonderful experience, thank you Jakob 🙏
Review by Mopar Rules
Wow! An old, but freshly polished cupboard in which my grandma forgot a glas of orange marmalade. And she left a bit of lovage inside too. The longer I sniff, a complex variety of flavors dancing around my nose. Complex, less fruitier then expected and quite herbal. On the palate, the abv is quite present and slightly too strong. Intense, heavy, strong, very balanced but I‘d like more fruits. Looong finish. No easy stuff…wait, no, caramel and burned sugar on the nose. Let it rest for even longer and new flavors turn up. Amazing. revised after I had the 1999 which I might like more
Review by Mike H.
91 points. Tasted at the Golden Promise bar at the the Whisky Live Paris 2023.
Review by Thunderbird
WOW... what a rum... simply brilliant
Review by mto75
complex and round at the same time, incredibly delicious! 😋
Review by Pavel Spacek
The old Velier Demerara rums are the best you can taste in the rum world. The rums aged rather by accident for several years in the tropics and no one topped up the barrel contents. The excise tax was 90% and more, which is why the taste is especially full and intense. Although it is an extra expensive affair, I recommend trying a rum from this series at least once in your life.
Review by Florent Apl
Very happy to get to try this SVW. It has the markers of the column still, chocolate, brown sugar, wood, as well as dried fruits, mainly dried raisins. Very complex. It really is one of the great Diamond of 1996
Review by Jarek
Compared to the 1997 Uitvlugt from the same tasting, less fruity, more on the spicy side. Different but also phenomenal. I rank the Diamond just below the Uitvlugt because I like the fruitiness of the Uitvlugt so much. If half points were possible, I'd make the gap even smaller.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
Here we are facing an absolute masterpiece! A rum that in all its smells and flavors manages to constantly maintain an incredible intensity and richness of aromas! Chocolate, coffee, spices, and citrus meringue dominate with a part of coconut that I adore! The wood is perfectly integrated and leaves a really pleasant warmth during tasting!
Review by ArminK
Thanks Jörg for the new bottle. It's something special. On the nose immediately the full load of vanilla, caramel, chocolate and raisins. On the palate the explosion but still very soft and balanced sweet with wood, minimal fruity. What a rum.
Review by Master P
A lively nose with smoke, patinated wood and old leather. Caramel and tea. On the palate, once it has left behind the bite of the alcohol, it reveals an unexpected complexity! The mouth is fully coated with aromas. Chocolate and caramel sweetness. An endless finish, impressively balanced, delicious!
Review by Righrum
Amazing. Complex, layered. Sweet but not in the common way. Wood, spices, furniture wax, some roasted coconut shavings. When drinking a great sweetness along with wood, then spices (vanilla, some baking spices too) but especially a clear caramel, not too sweet nor sticky in any way. A real hit, naturally sweet and complex
Review by Manuel
Old Demerara rules!
Review by Henry Davies
Almost certainly the best nose I have ever smelt on any rum, simply divine. Toffee, malt and so many complex notes. Mouth is rich, luscious, some spice and dark caramel. The mid mouth brings some menthol and light spice, wood influence and a hint of anise. Subtle, divine and oh so manageable. Something special for sure and try as I may to not love it you simply can’t help but fall for its allure. Complex, layered and all together simply exquisite. I found myself sniffing the glass for twenty minutes after I finished. Exceptional pure and simple
Review by Frank
Initially a hint of coconut, then beguiling dark cherry, sweet wood notes, honeycomb, light fresh tangerine. Great spicy nose.On the palate this nice mix of spice and wood continues along with sweet cherry tangerine. I even think I taste a bit of lychee.Wonderful rum.
Review by Maxence
This Diamond 1996 SVW shows more complexity on the nose than the SSN thanks to additional spicy and woody notes. The palate is rather similar with tons of round associations like coconut, vanilla or caramel. An excellent rum all together !
Review by Alex1981
Outstanding! Explosion of fruits, spices, burnt caramel, wood, melasses. Long finish that coats the mouth and stays with you forever. Love it 😍
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
Velier Diamond SVW 1996 – 15Y - 64.6% And to finish in apotheosis, the last but not least, a true legend of rum! A Demerara signed Velier, now unattainable. Distilled in 1996, no Port Mourant this time but the Diamond still. From 5 barrels marked SVW, it aged 15 years under tropical climate before being bottled at 64.6%. On the nose, a perfect balance between varnish and coconut, all in subtlety. But on the palate, the attack is powerful! You find caramelized coconut, yellow fruits, and above all an exceptional length... You understand why this rum became a myth.
Review by Chateau Caroni
Too much wood, very good but a bit disappointed
Review by Stan Hardy
Best Guyana I've ever had. Very fruity nose and palate, hardly any dirty notes, very easy drinking, which is rather a disadvantage at this price. Alcohol is very well integrated. A dream.
Review by Vinkes89
A beast! Very intense and nice taste :) Love it!
Review by jems5
Little acetone and rock candy on the nose then a very powerful explosive attack even clove, pepper, nutmeg, date, raisins on the tongue, very persistent aromas, finish with a bit of astringency and long finish, magnificent!
Review by DaveLamb
Fantastic art, a piece of "distillation" art.
Review by Rum_Freund
Crazy stuff 🥃😊✌🏼
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 9.6/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by Barrel Aged Thoughts
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Expert review by Who Rhum The World
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Community shelf
75 bottles logged by 54 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
12% opened, 4 emptied.
What does Velier Diamond SVW SVW 1996 cost?
Community paid 148–2,676 €.
Current best price: 1,790.00 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 1,182 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
75 purchased · 81 tasted · 44 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Diamond SVW SVW 1996
A Column Still Rum from Guyana, bottled by Velier, at 64,6%.
How do you read a Diamond bottle? The RumX guide ›
Read on in the RumX Guide
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