Diamond Kill Devil 2008
For experienced palates who enjoy smoky whisky notes, this cask‑strength Diamond with Port Ellen finish brings peat smoke, leather, salty malt and dry wood over a drier Guyana base. RumX members praise its uniqueness, intensity and balance when the smoke clicks, often calling it a horizon‑expander for both rum and Islay fans.
- Unique rum‑whisky hybrid
- Intense smoky profile
- Great alcohol integration
Details about Diamond Kill Devil 2008
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How does Diamond Kill Devil 2008 taste?
Aggregated from 48 community reviews.
Smoky Islay‑meets‑Diamond power combo For experienced palates who enjoy smoky whisky notes, this cask‑strength Diamond with Port Ellen finish brings peat smoke, leather, salty malt and dry wood over a drier Guyana base. RumX members praise its uniqueness, intensity and balance when the smoke clicks, often calling it a horizon‑expander for both rum and Islay fans.
Islay whisky lovers and cask‑strength rum fans who enjoy heavy peat smoke, leather, salt and dry wood and are curious about a bold Diamond/Port Ellen crossover.
Those who dislike smoky, peated whisky notes, prefer sweet and fruity rums, or are sensitive to high‑ABV intensity and dry, spicy finishes.
How is Diamond Kill Devil 2008 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict — 8.2 lands squarely in the "Very good" band. 87% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 2% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by DomM
A very special animal with its Port Ellen finish. Although I‘m not a huge fan of Islay Whiskies this combination works very well and makes a rounded and complex Rum/Whisky combo.
Review by Jan Lu
Unfortunately a disappointment. Doesn't taste good to me. Subtly fruity on the finish, otherwise rather too earthy. Reminds me too much of whisky. Too bad I bought a whole bottle. Maybe I'll make a whisky friend happy with it I can hardly get it down even on the second try. I just don't like it.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
01.02.2025 Retasting at the "Nordlichter Treffen 2025". Still a very good rum in my mind. --------------------- This is one of my favourite diamond releases and the price tag is definitely matching what you get. I other words a very good buy at release. The nose is fruity with caramel and maple as well as very light smoky wood. The palate is complex with fruit, smoky wood and spices and a light tobacco note. The finish is long with smoky wood, orange and nice spices.
Review by Chuck Nörris
Smell is quite intense. Very leathery, smoky. The taste corresponds to the smell, but much more extreme. No sweetness, no fruit, but extremely spicy and the spiciness lingers for a very long time. A little too extreme for me personally.
Review by LukaŽiga
9,2:On the nose, the first impression we get is a pleasant smoky, peated whisky like rum with tropical fruits like banana and vegetal notes as grass, cereal.There is creamy and smoky vanilla with some ginger. Very tempting and balanced. A little air brings more roasted touch with burnt sugar and toffee, chocolate and roasted nuts, some malt. There are citrus fruits like lemon, perhaps lemon peel and some litchi. It goes towards confectionery with biscuits, the presence of molasses is strong with herbal notes as sage. 9:On the palate, the attack is sweet, oily and creamy with smoke, peat, malt, honey and vanilla. It is very round and delicious. We get tasty fruits, especially citrus, the wood is dry, spicy, roasted with pepper, toffee. The are grass notes, some salt and anise, nicely balanced and teasing our tasting buds. 9:The finish is long, peated whisky like, there are some anise, black tea, orange, woody notes with dryness and spice, all covered in sweet, creamy honey. Top👌..
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Nah, guys, not my cup of tea at all. Only for whisky fans. I can also taste dry coffee, but the penetrating whisky note of the finish masks everything, especially in the aftertaste. Fortunately, there is a universe full of other rums.
Review by Galli33
First things first, I’m not a big fan of rums with a whisky finish. After some sips I must say, this one doesn‘t knock my socks off. The port ellen cask is here clearly drowns out the rum… You only notice the rum in the nose! The alcohol is integrated well. Anyway it‘s very harmonious and if you like whisky, you should try this one for sure😏
Review by zabo
Thanks to W00tAN for the sample. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a big fan of whisky finishes. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I am surprised that I like this bottling so much.
Review by RumTaTa
I do not really like such hybrids, either whiskey or rum. But this one has convinced me that something like that can also work well. The whiskey notes are there and the "peat smoke" is already violent but do not cover the Port Mourant profile but complement complexity. I like, and is a broadening of the horizon.
Review by Master P
Really interesting smell mix, smells almost exclusively of rum. Sweetish with fresh vanilla and red berries. But in the mouth there is little rum, the whisky influence dominates very strongly. 2cl to try is really ok, but you don't need a bottle.
Review by Timo Groeger
Day trip Baltrum September 2024. We start with a Kill Devil. Nose has notes of malt and liquorice, smells very smoky. Also smoky on the palate, with barrel, whisky and leather added. Not 100% my taste.
Review by Thunderbird
In the nose pleasant fruit and light smoke... relatively restrained, some alcohol also comes through!The palate is there much more intense... initially the typical flavors of the Diamond, it quickly changes in the direction of smoky whiskey... which in my opinion dominates the taste a bit too much! In the finish also again the smoky and dried fruit!I'm a little ambivalent here, the whole thing works, but I think the whiskey finish has the Diamond not necessary !
Review by Michael Ihmels 🇩🇪
Here again the Kill Devil vintage 2008, not quite to my taste, in the nose you immediately notice fruity notes like pineapple. But also a slight sweetness. On the palate, in addition to the fruit, spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon
Review by Johannes
Unfortunately, I'm not so keen on the combination of rum with a whisky finish. Here, too, you can't really recognize the base. The finish masks too much. However, I still think that this rum is round overall and the alcohol is well integrated.
Review by Piotr Ignasiak
Very enjoyable, the whisky is strong at first with smoke, minerality and mint but after some time the PM notes are also present. Overall works very nicely together with great alcohol integration.
Community purchases
55 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.
Also on the wishlist of 27 members.
About the Diamond distillery
The Diamond distillery is located in Guyana. Rums from Diamond have been reviewed 5,053 times with an average of 8.3/10.
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver — together with Jakob, Robert and Lukas, we started RumX in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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