Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Diamond S<W> SW 1981
Tell me when it gets cheaper
Tell me when it's back in stock
Price alert in the RumX app
Open in the app
Got the app? Open this bottle
Opens this rum in the RumX app
Dark chocolate, leather and pineapple sit over a "noble" oak that, after 31 years of tropical aging, edges into real bitterness. This is column-still Diamond from Velier — rich, spiced with pepper and cinnamon, and complex enough that new flavors keep surfacing. Many find it needs a drop of water to open. Loved, but several tasters still rate the younger Diamonds higher.
The community says- Deeply complex
- Rich chocolate-leather
- Well integrated 60%
Offers & prices
View price history
Secure payment Sold by Whiskytempel Returns & cancellation
- Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
- Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
- Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
- Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
10 more payment methodsLive auctions
Buy Velier Diamond S<W> SW 1981:
Compare all 5 shop offers
Prices & availability last updated on
Every partner shop pays us the same commission rate. The order is set by price alone. How we rank
We show the offers that deliver to your country, the cheapest including shipping first. The “Top Shop” label does not change the order, and no shop can buy a better place.
Offers & prices
No shop currently delivers to Germany.
Velier Diamond S<W> SW 1981 at live auctions
Lots running at our partner auction houses, the one ending first on top. A bid is not a final price: the house sets the buyer's premium, shipping and any customs duty.
All live auctions and the auction calendar ›The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Diamond S<W> SW 1981 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Old, complex Demerara with woody bitterness A rare, deeply complex old Demerara. Most call it a privilege to taste, though the tropical-aged bitterness and heavy wood keep some from top marks — and several prefer the younger Diamonds.
Aroma profileFans of old tropical-aged Demerara who don't mind bitterness
Anyone put off by heavy oak and bitter notes
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
23 of 56 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
Recommendation
Your next rum
Each with how it differs from this rum.
What does the community say?
56 community reviews
25 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 5% of Guyana rumsTop 2% at Diamond
Rate it in the app
Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Jakob
Once again in the glass - and I have to correct myself, although the wood is present, it is completely within an elegant frame. The bitterness of other comparable long-aged rums is missing, which is absolutely unusual given 31 years of tropical aging (already extremely extreme). Plus concentrated Diamond power - a top rum among the Velier Diamond.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
I have to say that for this rum I expected an absolute top level... instead, I appreciate the Diamonds with less aging more! Probably the years in the barrel gave it a more bitter side compared to its younger siblings! But the quality is still high!
Review by Aussierumfan
A stunning rum that is a privilege to taste in today's age! In fact this is the oldest vintage demerara I have tried to date. You can smell its tropical old age, musty, tobacco and wood which i enjoy! On the palate it's very complex and balanced, I'm getting more leather, but with some dark chocolate, a lot wood, and is a bit bitter which is slightly jarring. If you like old demeraras you will be in your happy place with this! I must say though, as much as I enjoy this, I still rate the younger diamonds better, I really appreciated the 1999 diamond and I think it's better than this one. High praise though, this is still a ripping rum.
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Old Velier Demerara rums are the best you can taste in the rum world. Rums aged rather by accident for several years in the tropics and nobody topped up the barrel contents. The angel's share was 90% and more, that's why the taste is especially full and intense. Although it's an extra expensive affair, I recommend tasting rum from this series at least once in your life.
Review by Maxence
A perfect round rum in my opinion. Some yellow fruits like pineapple, mango or citrus add more depth, balance and complexity to the profile compared to other round Demeraras like Uitvlugt, Blairmont or some 1996 Caroni like #5542. A genuine masterclass 🥰
Review by TheRhumhoe
A god among Olympian rums. Despite the ageing process, this Diamond has retained many aromas and must clearly have bonnified over time. The nose is full of gourmet aromas of Demerara sugar, spices, a noble woodiness that is not overpowering, exotic fruits and tobacco. Hazelnut, glue, mocha coffee, chocolate and notes of toffee plunge us into a very balanced, complex and seductive universe. The attack on the palate is remarkably supple. Very spicy (pepper, licorice, anise, cinnamon, vanilla, aromatic herbs), dark (dark chocolate, roasted hazelnut, coffee, tobacco, leather and roasted notes) and both fruity (exotic and dried fruits) and gourmand (crème au caramel), the palate offers an impressive taste festival that awakens the senses. The alcohol is very well integrated, the flavors very pleasant, the depth and complexity present. The wood has not overpowered the flavors. This is clearly a great rum. The finish is very long, with bitterness, dark chocolate, warm spice notes, coffee, leather, hazelnut and tobacco. Tropical fruits (pineapple, coconut) take a back seat. An extraordinary rum that deserves a place in the pantheon, both for its quality and its unfortunate speculation.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
We had a wonderful pure Diamond tasting yesterday and what a tasting. This one was the piece de resistance and we all found the it needed a bit of water to call hither all the flavours. Without water it came on like something was missing. A very rare and extremely expensive bottle.
Review by SaibotZtar
A dream from Diamond... Super delicious. Wonderfully complex nose... Fruity honey... almost creamy on the nose 😅😅... Milk chocolate, some leather and tobacco. On the palate Creamy 😛😛... Pineapple, papaya, slightly peppery, cinnamon, vanilla, some coffee and wet wooden barrel. Awesome stuff!!!! Alcohol well integrated.
Review by Mike H.
I’m very happy to have sampled one of my many unicorns. There are a lot of flavors present in this rum, the nose and mouth are excellent. But there is a bitterness that is a little deranging. This is a very high end rum that isn’t worth what one would have to pay for a bottle today though.
Review by zabo
Edit: tasted again thanks to Armin at the Franconian Tasting Gang meeting and changed my opinion and upgraded it. Basically not bad, but unfortunately not what I hoped for. It doesn't quite reach my top group of Velier Demeraras, but it was close. Still a nice thing.
Review by Oliver
Amazing rum. Goes towards an Albion profile.
Review by Leo Krüper
Very bitter and woody. Reminds me of old REVs. At the back end the rum becomes very round and sweetish. But upfront the strong licorice notes bother me for top ratings.
Review by Serge
After several years of browsing, I have – unfortunately from a price perspective – found that I like the tropical Demerara Column profile by far the most. Of course, I was curious about this rum. I find this rum very chocolate-heavy with pepper, cinnamon, and allspice notes over a profile of vanilla, oak/cask, coffee, dried fruits, coconut, and caramel. Pineapple is also present. Strong rum, very tasty, top league... yet it remains behind the 96 FP for me, which was bottled at the perfect time and lets the Diamond profile shine (even) more perfectly and purely. But here we are – just to use a seasonal analogy – clearly already at the gates of heaven 😇
Review by Fuwi
What a beast! All those decades in the barrel and an insane 97% angel's share have led to one of the best Demeraras I've tasted so far! I expected a heavy, bitter, and woody character that is totally over the top – but was completely proven wrong. It already smells of the expected notes, but much softer, more charming and round, embedded in dark fruits, creamy chocolate and burnt sugar. I let it breathe for half an hour before tasting the first drop and then wait another 15 minutes. Then I dive into a barrel-focused world full of coffee, toffee and vanilla, dark candied fruits with burnt sugar and slightly bitter hints, the allspice and other spice impressions fit very well. Very long and enduring finish, it slightly changes character between strong barrel and dark fruits. Amazing!
Review by Jarek
Franconian Tasting Gang meets at Rumurmel, April 2026 (Thanks for the entry to the rum treasure chamber. What a cool location!). Yes, you can tell it spent a very long time in the barrel under tropical conditions. The slight bitterness suits the rum very well.
Review by ArminK
I guess I'll open the bottle after all. First the sample. On the nose actually unspectacular light sweetness with fruit and wood. On the palate much more comes through. Alcohol is perfectly integrated. Vanilla, chocolate, wood and leather with dried fruits. Everything fits perfectly together. Nice soft finish.
Review by Anders Bovien
So sweet mouth feel and many claim to woody I absolutely not agree I love the balance and palate that keeps flowing with herbs and sweet fruits in the back mouth
Review by Mopar Rules
Column still demerara, so indeed more on the caroni side. Well balanced, complex, rich, but lighter and a shorter finish than the PMs or Enmores. A very nice rum, but compared to the 1996 Diamond Veliers not as good and even more expensive.
Review by Buddudharma
Great old Diamond, despite the high age not too woody. A privilege to be able to try rums like this. Thanks to Armin for the sample.
Review by Adrianv
Complex and charismatic rum! One can taste its age - bit bitter, woody, complex, pepper, anise, cinnamon, great Diamond from Velier indeed.
Review by RumRhush
It's very indulgent all that, nice concentration. Endless finish very woody. (Still the impression after an hour of having eaten a plank of wood but I guess that's part of the experience) a competition rum.
Review by Bob the Drunker
Fantastic rum for sure, tried diamond 1996 SSN and diamond svw 1999 before this, this adds a bit more complexities from the woody influence in a nice way, and that’s the difference to earn one more point from me
Review by Thomsen
So many layers that with every sip new flavors emerge, excellent!
Review by GigiMartini
Drank from a sample filled halfway almost 4 years ago. I make this preamble just to emphasize the possibility that this sample has evolved, losing the more unpleasant notes that others have found. Tasted neat, without dilution, I found it very balanced. Quite gentle both on the nose and palate, long but not very long finish. Not very complex, but always pleasant. After more than an hour in the glass, it evolved rather little. Yet, the aromas are pleasant throughout the tasting, no excessively bitter note. The wood is noticeable, yet never unpleasant.
Review by Skyfly
What more can I say!? An excellent Demerara with a balanced profile of wood, caramel, chocolate, various coffee notes, coconut, deep cask aromas, and light fruity hints. Overall, a very well-rounded picture and a must for every rum drinker!
No reviews match this filter.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
Read full review ›
Expert review by Who Rhum The World
Read full review ›
Community shelf
46 bottles logged by 36 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
13% opened, 3 emptied.
What does Velier Diamond S<W> SW 1981 cost?
Community paid 350–2,544 €.
Current best price: 3,195.00 € – above the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 2,073 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
46 purchased · 57 tasted · 35 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Diamond S<W> SW 1981
A rum from Guyana, bottled by Velier, at 60,1%.
How do you read a Diamond bottle? The RumX guide ›
Read on in the RumX Guide
You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Velier Albion AN 1994
Velier Uitvlugt UF30E UF30E 1985
Velier Diamond SSN SSN 1996
Silver Seal Enmore Demerara Rum EHP 1977
Whisky Krüger Port Mourant Rendsburger Bürgermeister Rum PM 1975
Never miss a price drop.
Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.
Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
Oliver, Stuttgart
About RumX ›YouTube channel (German, English subtitles)
