El Dorado isn’t Rum in the Raw, though: It’s a smooth and sophisticated rum that’s well worth seeking out. Available in nearly a dozen variations, I tried three of its oldest bottlings. All are 80 proof. A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.

This well-crafted expression is a marrying of Venezuelan rums aged in ex-bourbon and ex-single malt casks for up to 12 years. The rums are then hand-selected and hand-blended to find the perfect balance of taste and texture. The blend finally spends a year in sherry casks to give it that final note of ultra-refinement. That’s why today — even in the dead of winter — we’re calling out some of the best expensive dark rums we’ve had the pleasure to have ever tasted. Ever. Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal scale as follows:Personally speaking I cannot give any rum a 10 because I do not believe a perfect rum exists. The late great Vince Lombardi once said, "Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good.""

Sipped I’m again reminded of the El Dorado 12 – it offers a very rich and fruity mouthful. Fortunately rather thanheading in a sweeter direction after the initial sip the Enmore1993brings some more tannic red wine like notes, a nice spiciness mixes with some good well balancedoaked notes. There is also a hit of slightly bitter/sweet coffee beans. Flavour wise this matches the Velierreleases (their isno reason why it shouldn’t) its rich, intense and very full flavoured. The bourbon comes through with rich notes of oily vanilla and buttery caramel next to those deeper port notes of dried stonefruits next to marzipan with a hint of rose water. The palate builds on that by veering into a real sense of bright red cherries and chewy prunes stewed in Christmas spices with a sense of musty oak and more of that marzipan edging in. The end lightens to a velvet sip that’s perfectly rounded as the spice, cherry, and almond slowly fade out. There’s a sharpness to the nose that leans more towards candied ginger than Christmas spices with a bit of funk. The taste leans hard into the spiciness, with an orange zest brightness next to more funky old oak and plenty of sherried sweetness and plummy depths. The end fades very slowly and hits each note again as it warms your soul. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services.

Rum with soul

This is a classy rum. It’s the standard Bermudian Goslings blend that spends a few extra years in the barrel. The rum is crafted to be a sipper that hints at both cognac and scotch. Master Blender Trudiann Branker hit it out of the park with this Barbados rum. The expression is a blend of rum aged for five years in Tawny Port casks that’s married to 14-year-old rums aged in ex-bourbon casks. That blend is then transferred to fresh Tawny Port casks for a final year of resting/finishing. The rum is then bottled at cask strength with no fussing whatsoever. There are around 3000 bottles of each of the Rare Collection available. Which means they are definitelynot a Single Cask rum or likely asingle distillation. This rum islikely ablend from the Enmore Coffey Still married together to produce one larger “batch” of rum. To have yielded 3000 bottles we are talking about a lot of barrels when one considers the Angel’s Share which could have run at over 75% total yield! This of course is just my own musings and suggestions. If anyone has more solid information or a difference of opinion please let me know. I’m offering this insight in the absence of the “correct” information. Which is one the most heralded stills in DDL’s portfolio. It is capable of producing a number of different marques of rum from light to heavy and is featured regularly in both El Dorado’s and other independently produced blends. This really needs a little time to open up on the palate. Let it bloom in the glass with a touch of water and take your time savoring each sip. Pusser’s Aged 15 Years Pussers

My suggestion is to sip this rum neat at room temperature to enjoy all the nuances. The addition of a little ice causes the rum to become somewhat drier and less sweet, which may be preferred by some. During the early 20th century all the stills were merged and all ended up in the hands of DDL – Demerara Distillers Limited. The wooden coffey still – EHP – is the last one left since 1880 and the only wooden column still used in the world and what gives El Dorado rum its distinctive flavor. Made of a Guyanese wood called Greenheart, it produces mild and fruity medium bodied rum. The EHP single barrel rum from El Dorado comes from this still. It’s used in the El Dorado 5yo, 8yo, 12yo, 15yo, 21yo, and 25yo and what is shipped off to blenders elsewhere in the world. The presentation of the 21 Year Old is in keeping with the 12 and 15 Year Old. Same shape bottle and similar box. The difference really is the colour scheme. For the 21 year old they have opted for a very vivid blue. The age statement on the El Dorado 21 is also worth mentioning. Unlike solero style rums DDL guarantee that 21 Year Old is the age of the youngest rum in the blend. Some of the rum contained therein maybe considerably older.

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Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Velierset the benchmark by which all aged Demerara has perhaps been judged, particularly over the past 5 years at least. Prior to that (and prior to greater knowledge regarding additives) El Dorado were seen as kings. For whatever reason a decision has been made that Velier will no longer bottle El Dorado’s aged Demerara and it appears they will be doing it themselves. Unusually, I found that this rum needed little by way of dilution with water. A drop or two opened it up slightly but its surprisinglyeasy going for a rum of this age. Maybe that is due to it being a column distilled rum rather than Pot still?

Demerara is also a name tied to sugar, an extension of which is rum. Specifically, Demerera signifies the rum of Guyana, of which many call as the world’s best. Demerara rum, as you might expect, is produced on the banks of the Demerara River, just outside of Guyana’s capital of Georgetown. All Demerara rum is distilled in Guyana, regardless of where it may be aged and bottled. The rum is derived from sugarcane grown along the banks and is distilled by the last remaining Guyanese distiller, Demerara Distillers Limited, or the DDL. I’ve experienced more Demerara rums in blends than I have individual still rums. Demerara rums are very popular here in the UK and make a pretty cheap and tasty weekend mixer. I have tried a VelierEnmoreand Port Mourant “blend” and a Silver Seal Enmore from 2002. So I kind of have an idea what to expect. Well I think I have anyway. Guyana was a pristine land inhabited by Arawaks and Caribs when Christopher Columbus came ashore in 1498, though it was not produced on a large scale until the late 1700s, roughly a century later than in the rest of the Caribbean. As Guyana’s plantation owners entered the sugar industry late, they were able to import advanced equipment for milling sugarcane and the industry exploded. The rum is made up of a blend of rums from Demerara Distillers world-famous stills, the Enmore (wooden Coffey still), the Versailles (single wooden pot still), and the Albion (Savalle still). It is worth noting that all the rums in the El Dorado range boast differing components in their blend. It is not a case of the same rum(s) being aged longer. I’m a huge fan of Demerara rums and El Dorado rum in particular. This bottle was a very welcome Christmas treat. It has long been a rum I simply must try.

I seem to have enjoyed this more than others. I personally found it to be equally as good as some of the Velier Demerara’s I have tried. The presentation for the 12 year, the 15 year and the 21-year-old El Dorado Rums includes a squat smokey opaque brown bottle which has a funky old world charm and which looks great on my rum shelf. I like the fact that each rum in the series arrives in a smartly coloured display box which helps to protect the spirit from the deleterious effects of light. Finally each is closed with a quality cork topper which for me is the final requirement for a quality presentation. In the Glass 9.5/10 The Enmore1993 is a 21 year oldrum – I’m not totally sure when it was bottled but its maturation must have ceased in 2014 tomake it a 21 year old rum. El Dorado rums are blended selections of different ‘vintages’ or batches of rums from different stills – aged in oak barrels. Importantly, the age statement specifically indicates the youngest rum in the blend, even though the oldest may be many years older. This rule is the same as the one for Scotch Whisky and is used for rums produced in English-speaking countries…” This is the perfect post-meal digestif. It really feels like the ultimate winter sipper, especially when you get a little water in there to let it bloom in a big old snifter glass. Diplomático Single Vintage Diplomatico