Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Diamond (Versailles) SVSG 1996
Near-universal love here, with just one or two finding it too woody-bitter. This is a dark, tropically-aged Demerara blend of Diamond and Versailles marks — licorice, dried prunes, roasted coffee, burnt sugar, leather and that telltale glue note. Fruit stays in the background; sweetness is almost absent. Give it 15 minutes in the glass and the nose opens up. Heavy, oily, spice-laden.
The community says- Complex dark profile
- Well-integrated alcohol
- Long roasted finish
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Diamond (Versailles) SVSG 1996 taste?
Aggregated from 51 community reviews.
Dark, spicy old Demerara with licorice and coffee Adored by nearly everyone as one of Velier's best Demerara blends — deep, spicy and complex. A couple found it a touch too woody and bitter to love.
Fans of dark, tropically-aged Demerara blends
Anyone wanting sweet, fruity, easy-sipping rum
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
23 of 51 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
Your next rum
One difference each to this rum.
Drier
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1994
9.2/101900 €
Milder
Velier Diamond (Port Mourant) <W>PM PM 1999
9.0/101219 €
Similar rating, cheaper
Enmore Rum Artesanal Guyana Rum REV 1994
9.2/10595 €First choice: 12 of 22 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is Velier Diamond (Versailles) SVSG 1996 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 9.1 sits in the “Excellent” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
100% rate it 8 or higher. 20 selected write-ups from 51 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Jakob
A rum that was somewhat under my radar for a long time - but that doesn't do the bottling justice. The Marque by Diamond is quite recognizable thanks to the dominant liquorice notes. The Versailles component comes forward with minerality, plus the oak barrel with its sweet vanilla note. Clearly the best Demerara blend from Velier in my eyes.
Review by Johannes
I am impressed! I have not had the rum in the glass for a long time. Meanwhile, I like it even better. Wonderfully complex blend. Currently I feel more Diamond with the typical glue note, molasses, wood, dark dry fruits, less Versailles notes.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
A really great match between Diamond and the Versailles still! You can perceive very well the characteristics of both with more prevalence of Diamond's hints but in the glass everything is really balanced!
Review by SaibotZtar
Really good stuff . Unfortunately very expensive even for a sampler . Wonderfully complex, fruity and spicy. A rum you can and should spend a lot of time with. These old bottlings are simply in a different league to most of what is now being thrown onto the overcrowded market. Anyone who has the chance to try it should definitely do so.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A blend that plays on the complementary aromas and opulence of the Demerara style. The alchemy works on the nose, with a dark, chocolatey woodiness that opens with spices (vanilla, cinnamon, licorice) before plunging into the darkness of Demerara: dried fruits (prunes, grapes), black tea, leather, notes of varnish, glue and polish, baked caramel and burnt sugar immerse us in this facet that is as dark as it is gourmand. A generous, refined and unrestrained profile. On the palate, the blend dons its dark cloak, with a strong concentration of roasted, grilled and even burnt aromas. Leather and wood take center stage, but are quickly overtaken by a myriad of spices (cinnamon, licorice, vanilla back in the mix), coffee and dark chocolate. Dried fruit and burnt sugar are there in support, with that pleasant, slightly bitter roasted warmth. The alcohol goes unnoticed in this landscape as dark as it is delicious. The finish, perhaps not as intense as the rest of the profile, nevertheless retains all its splendor with that very dominant dark side. However, black tea and floral notes suddenly emerge to underpin the profile, before fruit and a saline touch finalize the show. The two origins complement each other well, delivering a performance that lives up to expectations: intense, full-bodied and round, this blend is now arousing the curiosity of bottlers who are trying their hand at the exercise with the same combination, without ever managing to match this unicorn.
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 cask 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 tasting a rum from this series at least once in your life.
Review by zabo
The ratings correspond to a blind tasting, thanks to the new function in the app. In hindsight, I rated it a little too poorly, but still not a highlight of the evening for me. It was a little too woody and bitter in taste for me. Nevertheless, thanks to Jakob for sharing.
Review by Jarek
Franconian Rum Tasting Gang & Jakob, 2023-07-27 Part 2: Dark, heavy, spicy. Liquorice with dried fruit and very dark berries. Dark chocolate, tea and just the right amount of wood. A masterpiece! Tasted another 0.5 cl and I have to adjust the rating upwards a little.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
My hands were shaking with anticipation, as you can easily see from the blurred photo. Simply delicious.
Review by Serge
Blindverkostung: altes, dunkles, kontinentales Profil. Fruchtig, Holzig, Malzig … super lecker. Hab ihn beim ersten mal wohl doch nicht genug stehen lassen. Erste Verkostung: Mein zweiter Velier Demera-Blend … gefällt mir aus dem Stehgreif direkt besser als der zuletzt verkostete Diamon & Port Mourant (PM) … das dunklere Diamond S Mark passt sehr schön zum Versailles. Lakritze und Kaffee vermischen sich hier mit Pflaume und Kräutern. Alles schön tropisch gereift und mit lecker Kleber und Lack dabei.
Review by LukaŽiga
9,2:On the nose, dried fruits like raisins and apricots, prunes, barrel impact is obvious, as wood is roasted/charred with caramel, roasted nuts, coffee, burnt sugar, spicy with allspice, anise, medicinal with polish, varnish, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, molasses is thick, candied, dark with licorice, black tea, herbaceous, dark chocolate, leather join, meaty notes like bacon. 9:On the palate, the attack is medicinal with varnish, menthol hints, fruity with dried fruits like raisins and apricots, citrus, yellow fruits and coconut, the wood is charred, burnt with burnt sugar, dark chocolate, coffee, spicy with allspice, anise, as molasses is dark with licorice, black tea, herbaceous.The rum is full-bodied, barrel impact is obvious, metallic patina joins with oxidation. 9,1:The finish is long, dry&tannic, balanced, with Demerara sugar, roasted, dark oak notes, burnt, salty, spicy, fruity with dried, tropical fruits, berries and molasses is slightly minty, floral, dark with licorice, herbaceous..
Review by Felix Reiber
Welch ein Meisterwerk ! Furchtbar komplex, kraftvoll und lecker ! Diamond und Versailles sind perfekt fusioniert. In der Nase habe ich zunächst Lakritze, Dörrpflaume und andere Trockenfrüchte, Leder, Kirsche, gebrannten Zucker und Vanille. Dann leitet eine Kaffeenote mit Schokolade, Gewürznelken, Eiche, Kräutern und Schwarztee in eine würzige und florale Richtung. Kraftvoll und mit intensiver Aromatik geht es am Gaumen weiter. Fassnoten, gebrannter Zucker, Dörrpflaume, Lakritze, dunkle Schokolade, Kaffee und gebranntes Holz werden abgerundet durch weitere Trockenfrüchte, Kokosnuss, Piment und schöne Röstnoten. Sehr lecker bei perfekt integriertem Alkohol. Der lange und geniale Abgang bietet erst Lakritze, Fassnoten, Kaffee, Holz, Schokolade, Vanille und Anis, bevor er dann mit getrockneten Früchten, Demerarazucker, Pfeffer, Kräutern und Minze angenehm ausklingt. Dieser intensive, alte Guyanarum ist ein Pflichtprogramm für alle, die gereifte, dunkle Profile genießen ! Vielen lieben Dank an @Skyfly für das grandiose Sample 😃
Review by Skyfly
Mein dritter Demerara Blend und bisher der beste und komplexeste. Die Diamond Marker überwiegen hier; die Lakritze ist bis lange im Abgang zu schmecken. Daneben sehr viele dunkle Aromen, etwas Lack und primär Dörrpflaume als Fruchtaroma.
Review by Christoph H.
Very stark aged, deep and heavy Demerara blend. The rum is more on the spicy, barrel and overall tart side. There is hardly any fruit on the nose, some prune in the background. Sweetness is also just absent, if at all in the form of strongly burnt brown sugar. Otherwise, there is a lot of freshly roasted coffee, licorice, roasted aromas, leather, tobacco and herbs. Still some furniture polish in the background. In the mouth heavy, full-bodied, oily, sweet. Much rounder than still in the nose, a bit more fruit, lots of molasses, balanced spice. Very horny rum, I like exceedingly well
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
I only have one comment on the nose for this one and that's WOW. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes and the nose is a crazy explosion of flavours not there when you poor the glass. I worried that the palate wouldn't be able to keep up with such a rich nose, but that wasn't the case. The palate is wonderful and very well balanced. The alcohol has been so well integrated that you don't need water, some may want a drop or two, but a wonderful palate overall. The finish is long and has a minty coffee note to it and it just keeps on lingering. Try to leave the glass for the next day nose it!
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Enmore, Versailles und Diamond in perfekter Harmonie. Hätte blind am ehesten enmore gesagt. Dunkel kräftig und würzig, schwer und ölig. Sehr schöner Single cask blend! Ewig länger öliger Abgang. Danke Jakob! Dafür das ich sonst nicht so der Versailles fan bin gefällt mir dieser ausgesprochen gut.
Review by Buddudharma
Very strong blend. The higher percentages lead to more intensity without disturbing in any way. Complex, elegant, dark profile without too much malt or licorice notes, which are not really my thing. I would like a bottle of this.
Review by Mopar Rules
more shy on the nose with very balanced smell of spices, wood, burned caramel. Hard for me to find much fruitiness. On the palate, a subtle bitterness that harmonizes much better with the caramel and spices than RX13135 I tasted same evening. Strong, intense, long finish
Review by ArminK
Angenehm in der Nase, er verspricht: Das wird etwas besonders. Im Mund sind die 57,9% extrem gut eingebunden. Etwas Eichen-Holz mit getrockneten Früchten und einer leichten Süße.im Abgang kommt dann noch etwas Bitterkeit. Er verlangt nach mehr.😋
Review by Adrianv
Amazing blend. I love these old Demerara rums, this one put together great Diamond and Versailles notes. Harmonic and balanced blend indeed. Complex from the nose to finish. This rum likes resting in glass for a while. Opens up nicely. It is piece of history, it will always be. I am happy to hold a bottle and keep it in my collection for loooong time:)
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 9.1/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Who Rhum The World
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Expert review by Tasting Bro's
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Expert review by The Dunder Hut
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 560 € – 1100 €
from 12 sales, latest 08/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 694 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Velier Diamond (Versailles) SVSG 1996
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Guyana, bottled by Velier, at 57,9%.
What do the letters on a Demerara label mean? The RumX guide →
Community purchases
53 bottles logged by 42 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
5% opened, 1 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Diamond (Versailles) SVSG 1996 cost?
Community paid 159–1,503 €.
Current best price: 1170.50 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
53 purchased · 52 tasted · 36 wishlist · as of
About the Diamond (Versailles) distillery
The Diamond (Versailles) distillery is located in Guyana. Rums from Diamond (Versailles) have been reviewed 179 times with an average of 8.1/10.
To Diamond (Versailles) →Read on in the RumX Guide
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Velier Enmore & Port Mourant EHPM 1998
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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.
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