Aroma visualization from community tastings
Enmore RA Guyana Rum VSG 1985
The pencil-lead thing everyone mentions is real, and it hits the second you pour. This 1985 Enmore VSG from the wooden pot still runs on graphite, dried thyme and mint, with dried apricot and prune underneath. One taster called it "flüssiger Bleistift" — liquid pencil. Oily, dry, remarkably un-woody for 36 years. Loved by many, but a genuinely divisive, love-it-or-not profile.
The community says- Intense graphite note
- Herbal complexity
- Oily, not over-oaked
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The look inside the bottle
How does Enmore RA Guyana Rum VSG 1985 taste?
Aggregated from 72 community reviews.
Graphite, thyme and mint — polarizing old Enmore Scored high across the board, but honest: it's the pencil-graphite-and-herbs profile people either adore or admit isn't their thing. Complex and elegant, not something to drink casually.
Enmore/Versailles fans who love mineral, herbal, graphite-heavy rum
Anyone wanting sweet, fruity or easy sipping — the pencil note is intense
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
38 of 72 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Enmore RA Guyana Rum VSG 1985 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 9.0 sits in the “Excellent” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
3% rate it between 6 and 8. 18 selected write-ups from 72 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by cigares
A nose of old varnished wood, sawdust and mirabelle plum alcohol. The palate plunges fairly quickly into a sort of licorice and prunes, then overripe papaya and floor wax, wood in all its forms and, very present when spotted, graphite/pencil lead. A bitter medicinal side bothers me a little, especially on the finish. The finish is long, on overripe papaya and wood in all its forms. The empty glass is marked by smoke and oak. Not a big fan of this rum, even though it tells a story of old wood, it lacks balance and deviant aromas bother me a little.
Review by Galli33
Wish you guys a good start in the new year! This is my last rum for this year. I have choosen it, because there are a lot of good rumors. So… it’s a very good rum from guyana with nice notes of thyme and graphite/pencil shaving. Very special. In comparison to the high price per value and the missing WOW effect i’ll give it a good 90 only. Nose: delicious, thyme, graphite, herbal, prunes, citrus, dried fruits, some notes of green apple, iodine, licorice 🤪, woody, almond, roasted, marzipan, cream toffee Mouth: complex, dry, astrigend, oily, full bodied, thyme, graphite, minty, herbal, bitter, tannins, licorice, oak, diluted???? Finish: long, dry, astringend, minty, thyme, herbal, iodine, tannins, roasted, leather, oak(barrel)
Review by Oliver
Outstanding Versailles! Liquid pencil... 🤯
Review by TheRhumhoe
A grandiose rum that masters the balance of aromas to perfection. The triptych of herbal and tobacco notes, Demerara's typical woodiness and spiciness, and the fruitier side of the nose complete the picture. The attack on the palate is extremely delicate, with the alcohol very well integrated. The top notes are thyme, tobacco and herbs, followed by spices (licorice, aniseed, allspice), wood, nuts and fruits (citrus, dried, candied and tropical fruits). The honeyed side of the rum incenses the palate. The finish is long, warm and spicy, but is soon overtaken by floral and earthy flavors that are highly aromatic and not at all distracting. A superbly well-preserved rum that's part of the legend.
Review by Jakob
Wonderful rum that varies between the omnipresent pencil shavings, herbs (thyme!) and spicy notes. A true grand seigneur from Versailles.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
A dream in the tasted desired color graphite gray. 😋
Review by Tschusikowsky
Best VSG I've had so far. The nose I found still (too) restrained but palate and finish are exquisite. Pencil is really there, but also bitter orange, pickled pears, herbs, citrus. Plus present slightly burnt wood notes that round it all out. The oily texture also fits very well. Top!
Review by Martin Augustin
Nase: Bleistift! Eine sehr komplexe Nase mit viel Tiefe. Schöne ölige Textur, die gleichzeitig süß und konzentriert ist. Bleistift, Holz, Pfeffer und Vanille vermählen dich mit mineralischen Noten. Er ist süß und bitter zugleich, genial. Der Abgang überzeugt ebenso. Ein wirklich toller Versailles!
Review by Thunderbird
What an extraordinary rum... I've never noticed the mineral pencil note so extremely ... but it's not just this alone that makes this rum... dried fruit and herbs are in harmony, the woody side also comes to the fore! A very complex and intense rum... absolutely top!
Review by Serge
✏️✏️✏️ A beautifully pronounced pencil and a really great rum. It's not my absolute feelgood profile, but if you take your time with the rum - at least that's how it was for me - you can really have fun with it.
Review by Jarek
I have occasionally wondered what can be meant by pencil notes - now I know. It becomes clear as soon as you pour it into the glass. Herbs and delicate fruity notes. Nice finish. I like it very much.
Review by Frank
A rather rare and expensive drop and something very special! Nose: actually pops a pencil lead. Wow. I find dry spices like savory or old oregano as well as candle wax and lovely beeswax. It also has something of old newsprint. Fruit is there, but flat, perhaps dried apricot. Palate: here, too, the first thing is intense pencil, followed by a pleasant wood acidity. Then again these dry spices, thyme, saffron, some mint and also lovage. Cut branches again. Slightly salty and waxy. Totally different and therefore brilliant!
Review by LukaŽiga
9,2:On the nose, the power of mint and thyme are the first impression we get from this rum, slightly herbaceous, dark with licorice, then citrus, dried fruits and green apple, roasted wood notes like cocoa, nuts, spicy with nutmeg. On aeration, a very round rum is flowery, mineral, fruity with banana, lime, orange, lemon peel and dried apricots, also spicy with vanilla and sweet with Demerara sugar. 9:On the palate, the attack is dark with licorice, umami, roasted wood notes like leather, nuts, caramel, Demerara sugar, peppery, fruity with dried fruits like apricots, figs, prunes, as the molasses is minty, herbal, vegetal with thyme. Resting the rum helps vanilla, tannins and citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemon peel, as the wood is smoky and later the fruits candied. 9,1:The finish is long, dry and tannic, so slightly bitter, oaky, with past notes continuing the journey, joined by berries and tobacco..
Review by DomM
Surprisingly non-woody on the palate looking at its very long time in the cask. Very elegant and komplex. Good stuff.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very intense & authentic note of thyme, salty salmiak/licorice sweets, some pear and bitter orange, leather, lots of bitter substances from burnt wood and light bitter notes like from iodine ointment or when you chew on a pencil... Surprisingly drinkable for 36y old and surprisingly little wood for it. The finish could be a little longer. PLV is out of proportion for me, if the rum cost 200€ less, the ratings would be higher. In general, however, it's not really the flavor profile that appeals to me.
Review by Lukas Jäger
A touch of legend. As unique in taste as its vintage. Anyone who likes to stir their herbal tea with pencils will love this bottling. Despite its enormous age, it is not woody, almost harmoniously balanced in its aromas, if it weren't for this beastly pencil note, which is only sufficiently countered by thyme and mint. I find it difficult to rate this bottling because it is so special and, as a unicorn, correspondingly expensive. I would give it more points for quality, but unfortunately it's not my taste. Still, it's a board. You have to try it.
Review by zabo
I've been putting this sample off for ages, forgot about it and now I've come across it by chance. There's really not much to say about it, except that it's a really damn good rum.
Review by Christoph
Intense thyme and mint on the nose, plus citrus fruits. A natural caramel sweetness, when drinking you can almost taste the brown sugar crystals. Herbal notes diminish towards the finish. Oily on the tongue, dry on the finish with some iodine and roasted notes. The integration of the alcohol lacks maximum perfection, and the nose promises more than the taste delivers (criticism still at a very high level considering the P/L ratio compared to the 1994 REV and VSG bottlings).
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Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 9.2/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
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Expert review by Tasting Bro's
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Expert review by The Dunder Hut
Quite a nice Enmore with everything you would expect. But, and that is a big but, it really is not typical in the integration of the herbal notes. They are in a rare and perfect melange that elevates it to something wonderful
Details about Enmore RA Guyana Rum VSG 1985
A Pot Still Rum from Guyana, bottled by Heinz Eggert GmbH, at 54,3%.
Community purchases
78 bottles logged by 51 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
6% opened, 1 emptied and repurchased.
What does Enmore RA Guyana Rum VSG 1985 cost?
Community paid 378–534 €.
Current best price: 499.90 € – 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+ →
78 purchased · 75 tasted · 46 wishlist · as of
About the Enmore distillery
The Enmore distillery is located in Guyana. Rums from Enmore have been reviewed 4,653 times with an average of 8.8/10.
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