Dead Reckoning ‘The Black Pit’ – September 2024
Welcome back to the Caribbean! Not just any Caribbean rum – a single origin rum from the Diamond Distillery in Guyana, blended from spirit out of 3 different working museum piece wooden stills (the only wooden stills still existing) – and then given the ‘magic touch’ by the Dead Reckoning dry age treatment here in Adelaide – The Dead Reckoning ‘The Black Pit’!
This is exclusive in Australia to the Rum Tribe. We get first dibs and whatever the Tribe doesn’t snatch up will be boxed and sent to Europe (seriously there will be none left).
So, the Black Pit is a blend of spirit from the afore mentioned three stills – run with both open and closed-fermented molasses-based wash. 5 years of tropical aging in Guyana (in an ex-bourbon cask) before heading to SA for a ‘double dose’ of Adelaide dry-aging in both a South Australian Muscat (Woodstock Winery) cask and an ex-Makers Mark bourbon cask for a further two and a half years. Bottled in EXTREMELY limited quantity – once it’s gone… it’s gone!
The Black Pit pays homage to three of DDL’s stills that are absolutely amazing in that they are made of wood! Yep, that’s right – 3 of the DDL stills are actually constructed of wood. They are the world’s only remaining commercially operating wooden stills – and they are all under the one roof in Guyana! Firstly, from (the now closed) Enmore distillery is their wooden Coffey column still. Secondly a wooden single-vat (the term ‘vat is used in place of ‘pot’ as it’s made of wood, not copper) still with retort from the old Versaille Distillery, and finally a still from the former Port Mourant Distillery that is a ‘double wooden vat with retort still’.
But why wood? Well, pretty simple really – refined metal (especially copper!) was just too rare a commodity (and thus extremely expensive) back ‘in the day’ in Guyana. What they did have though, was an abundance of an incredibly hard-wearing and resilient wood called ‘Greenhart’. Almost as strong as copper or steel, so hard it was unable to be milled or worked with ‘standard’ tools, and impervious to rot – it was used in many of the 300 distilleries that once populated Guyana. Today, only three running examples survive and all are located at Diamond Distillery. If you’d like to know more about these incredible working relics from a different age – there’s an excellent article at Cocktail Wonk complete with an interview with DDL’s master distiller Shaun Caleb.
Now the name ‘The Black Pit’ is where Justin Boseley’s WWII Battle for the Atlantic ‘geekness’ intersects with yours truly’s WWII aviation ‘nerdity’. It’s what the merchant marines ferrying vital supplies from Allied countries to Britain called the [huge] gap in where allied air cover could reach to protect the merchant shipping convoys from the dreaded U-Boat wolf-packs. Until the invention and widespread use of sonar, air cover was virtually the only defence the convoys had against the U-boat packs which ravaged the vital supply lines. But the range of the aircraft was limited. For pretty much all the central Atlantic the allied merchant ships were on their own. This vast area of ocean was known as ‘The Black Pit’. In his role as a ‘mega-yacht captain’ – Justin made nine Atlantic crossings, and each time he did so was struck by the thought of the wartime mariners and the vast distance form land they were if they went down.
Geographically, Guyana (which translates to ‘land of many waters’) sits comfortably in it’s ‘tropical paradise’ locale between Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil. In the late 1700’s, Guyana (known then as British Guiana) was the home to some 300 rum distilleries. All these distilleries capitalising on the local superb Demerara Sugar industry, and each with their own ‘marque’ identifying it’s rums origin. (NB – The Black Pit label has the marques for the three stills proudly up front – EHP VSG PM)
By the time Guyana gained it’s independence in the 1960’s, most of the countries distilleries were either closed or merged/consolidated – in fact by the end of WW2 only 9 distilleries were left operating – and all were owned by 2 British companies. The independence of Guyana saw both of these companies nationalised, and the transition to Guyanese ownership saw them renamed as ‘Guyana Disitlleries Ltd’ and Diamond Liquors Ltd. In 1983 these two companies merged to create ‘Demerara Distillers Limited’ (DDL). In 2017 Guyanese ‘Demerara Rum’ gained its own ‘G.I.’ (Geographic Indicator – in short, only allowing actual Guyanese made-and-aged ‘Demerara Rum’ to be called such). In 2021 the Demerara Rum G.I. was officially recognised by the E.U. giving this Guyanese product much greater protection internationally.
Still to this day running under the guise of DDL, they continue to produce some of the world’s finest rums in what can only be described as a living, working rum museum.
The Diamond Distillery has more stills than any other Caribbean rum distillery, some of which could qualify as historic treasures. And this month’s incredible rum from Dead Reckoning celebrates three of these stills in particular – all tied by what they are constructed of.
This is an astounding rum in its own right – and we believe a world first blend of the three heritage wooden DDL stills. Regardless, at $149 it is absolutely amazing value and is sure to become a world-wide collector’s item. So you’re actually investing in a better future by buying two bottles. You know you should!
Our Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rather light on the nose. Not light as in insipid – but light as in light fragrances. There’s a distinct floral note there (frangipani, or is it jasmine?) as well as an earthy, almost petrichor fragrance. Over time it opens up to give some lipstick and then a real fresh cut grassy aroma becomes evident.
Palate: POW! – wow, what a total ambush. That light and floral nose gives absolutely NO hint of the rich, syrupy flavour-bomb that hits on the palate! The sticky date pudding notes are off the chart here! Huge and sumptuous and sweet and unbelievably chewy. But there’s more – a definite creaminess to it, in fact it develops a real creaming-soda vibe as you chew it – and before you know it, a big drizzle of honey comes out and raps itself around a Werther’s Original Cream Caramel.
Finish: Big and lush and ooh so totally chewy with espresso coffee and bitter dark chocolate (my 14yo son says it’s tiramisu and once he said that I can’t argue) plus a warming peppery embrace (thank you Mr. Muscat cask!) that sticks to your cheeks as you’re reaching for the bottle again.
Simply put, this is a multi-layered exuberance… a superabundance of thick, syrupy goodness underneath an understated, almost dry olfactory introduction. Once again Dead Reckoning has given us a rum we didn’t even know we needed until we tasted it. Oh yeah, and you do need this rum. You’ll love it from the first sip, and keep discovering new components as the aromas and flavours evolve over the course of 5, 10… even 20 mins, so make it a good size pour!
FROM DEAD RECKONING
I’ve always been a big fan of Guyanese Rum ever since the York family from Quittin Time in Australia introduced them to me 13 years ago. Pencil was put to paper in 2020 to try and come up with what I would see, as the ultimate blend showcasing what three wooden stills can produce.
Following in tradition with past releases this has a strong connection to Maritime history. Aptly named ‘The Black Pit’.
The term Black Pit referred to a perilous area in the mid-Atlantic gap during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. Here, German U-boats had an advantage due to the absence of protective air cover, making the allied convoys easy targets.
Having done nine Atlantic Crossings myself sitting on the bridge of a mega yacht at 2 am, my mind used to wander to this perilous section of the Atlantic thinking how disastrous it would feel floating around in one of the world’s largest sections of ocean after your boat had been sunk.
What can only be described as a sticky date pudding, topped with toffee caramel and steamed with fresh roasted coffee in a glass.
ABOUT DEAD RECKONING
Justin Boseley, has immersed himself in rum for the past 20 years; a journey starting as a deck scrubbing lad with a thirst for Rum and adventure culminated in him becoming a Chief Officer; driving billionaire’s mega yachts around the world. This life of salty seadog adventure took him to Rum’s heartland, the Caribbean islands for 6 months a year, every year.
When he wasn’t at the helm of a mega-yacht he could be found hanging off a bar or at a distillery sampling the best the Caribbean rum scene had to offer. Upon ending his days at sea there was only one thing he knew better that navigating around the world’s oceans- that was Rum. For 10 years Justin has scoured the globe discovering & importing the world’s best rums into Australia.
Dead Reckoning is Australia’s first independent rum bottler, and each release from his bond-store is an anticipated event that never fails to please! The Rum Tribe is incredibly proud of our close association with Justin and the Dead Reckoning brand.
