Rum Review, El Dorado 15 (5/5)
El Dorado 15 is one of the aged rum offerings from the fine folks at Demerara Distillers. Currently operating the only distillery in Guyana, Demerara Distillers provides the rum behind any number of labels on the U.S. and european markets. El Dorado is their own premier product line, and is quite a good one to boot. The term Demerara Rum and Guyanese Rum is pretty much interchangeable, with Guyana being the country and Demerara being the region.
One of the unique qualities about Demerara Distillers is their use of a wooden continuous (coffey) still, the Enmore still, which has (reportedly) been operating since around 1880, and is still in use today. This still produces the smokey rich quality enjoyed in the rums from Demerara Distillers. One of their finest being the El Dorado 15. I thought I’d sit with this one for a bit, and give my thoughts.
El Dorado 15 is a blend of rums aged up to 25 years in oak casks. Something you may notice about rums are the inconsistencies in aging. A 12 year could be an average age, the full age of the rum, or you could throw Solera method into that and really get the math boggling. Some countries have laws regarding the aging and labeling of rums, some don’t. Some distillers will put misleading numbers on the bottle (8, for example) with no note that there is any meaning to said number in order to skim around any laws.
Moving back to the rum, For one, I love the bottle. Images of seafaring adventures, a wax seal, lots of gold and emblems, it’s just plain nifty. Very rummy images. Please note, the bottle means nothing in the final score (unless it’s Pussers), but is certainly worth a mention.
Appearance: Visually, the rum is a rich and dark golden brown, with a bit of a coppery hue to it.
Nosing: The nose of this rum brings a lot of caramel, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, though it does fade within a few minutes in the glass. There’s something to the smell that reminds me of a warm and sunny morning. There’s just about everything you would expect in a high quality rum in the nose.
Tasting: Taste wise, this rum is packed to the gills with flavor. The nose leads right in to the palate with lots of honey, vanilla, caramel, and a hint of banana, all packed into a rich creamy texture. There’s a bit of the signature Demerara smoke to it on the back of the palate, and a finish that is extraordinarily smooth. This is a rum without much at all in the way of burn.
On Mixing: Mixing with this rum is tough to think about, which I say only because I could see myself easily finishing a bottle straight with no need for ice or any other fixings. Being an exceptionally sweet rum, the sugar of an Old Fashioned mixed with my favorite bitters for an O.F., Fees Barrel Aged, can be a bit much. An Improved Cocktail with Angostura or Angostura Orange bitters does work wonders with El Dorado 15, like framing a master rum blender’s work of art.
Score: I have to give this rum 5 out of 5 for this rating. It’s of exceptional quality, an extraordinary sipper, and something I would be happy to hand to anyone looking to get into aged or Demerara rums.
(5/5)
Other Information on El Dorado 15:
- Demerara Distillers Website
- Ministry of Rum
- Art of Drink
- RumDood
- RnD Rum Reviews
- On Demerara Rum (Trader Tiki)
9 Responses to “Rum Review, El Dorado 15 (5/5)”
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16. Jun, 2009
[...] El Dorado 15 [...]
This rum taunts me. I gaze at it longingly every time I’m at Big Y, but it costs $55 in Oregon, and less than $30 elsewhere.
YAY! The best rum in the world…
Forgot to say that i can also easily just drink it as it without anything else, in fact thats really how it should be drunk. But i do think its nice in certain cocktails too.
Always a fan favorite, I also refuse to buy it in Oregon because of how ridiculously high the price is. Maybe next time I go home to California.
I’ve been away from the “community” for a while, but nice to see Blair is doing a few rum reviews now as well as his usual shtick.
You forgot to mention how many times the El Dorado 15 year old won the World Spirits competition in London!! Proving its worth as the best rum in the world!!
Very sweet rum. I found you can add a splash of cola to get rid of the “rum bite”
I had some in March 2010. It was soooo mellow. Paid $45.00, in Concord CA.
For anyone in Oregon who wants to get their hands on some of this at a reasonable price, I’ve got to give points to Hi-Times Wine & Spirits down in California. I got a bottle of ED15 the last time I ordered from them and it was a much more reasonable $30 (plus shipping, admittedly). The OLCC really needs to reset the prices for some of the products sold in OR. I’d much rather buy from a local store, but when the price differential is more than $5 or so per bottle, I might as well just order online.