IDH Legacy Cask - Component Spotlight #1

At-a-glance

Origin: Guyana, Diamond Distillery
Distillation: Versailles Wooden Pot Still
Raw Material: Molasses
Cask Type: Recycled rum casks (oak)

WHY THIS COMPONENT MATTERS

Not every component in a cask is chosen for elegance or immediacy. Some are selected for structure, authority, and historical weight.

The REV 2006 component fulfils that role within the IDH Legacy Cask. It provides density, dryness, and a firm structural backbone - reinforcing the release as a serious, archive-led composition rather than a conceptual exercise.

DISTILLERY & STILL CONTEXT

The Versailles Wooden Pot Still is one of the last surviving wooden pot stills still in active rum production. Originally operated at the now-closed Versailles Estate, it was preserved and relocated to Diamond Distillery, ensuring the continuation of a distilling tradition that stretches back into the 18th and 19th centuries.

The pot itself is constructed from indigenous Greenheart wood. This material is not used to flavour the spirit, but for its exceptional structural stability and low thermal conductivity. By slowing heat transfer during distillation, the still favours the carryover of heavier alcohols and congeners, resulting in a spirit defined by weight, dryness, and texture.

A copper rectifier provides essential metal contact for sulphur management, while the wooden pot shapes the spirit physically rather than chemically. The result is a style that would be materially altered if the wooden pot were replaced.

MATURATION PATH

8 years tropical ageing in Guyana, delivering power and extraction

Shipped to the UK in August 2014, remaining in cask

7 years continental maturation, refining and stabilising the structure

This dual-continent ageing balances intensity with composure — a profile that has become increasingly difficult to achieve in modern rum stocks.

ROLE WITHIN THE CASK

The REV 2006 brings dense oak structure, resinous spice, dark fruit, and pronounced tannin to the IDH Legacy Cask. It does not dominate, but it grounds the rum — providing depth and historical gravitas that allows other components to express themselves more clearly.

Multiple casks from the same distillation date were selected, offering subtle cask-to-cask variation and a level of comparative nuance more often associated with whisky than rum.

FOLLOWING THE STORY

REV 2006 is one of several historic components that make up the IDH Legacy Cask, each selected for a specific structural or narrative role.

To register your interest in reserving a bottle from the IDH cask - please submit here