I got El Dorado as a gift and only got to taste it now. Other reviews say this is a beautifully packaged rum with balanced taste and ideal price:quality/taste ratio. And the reviews are right, my dear friends.
I was really surprised by this rum. For 600 crowns, I did not expect much and I think you will not find a more balanced, adequately strong and smooth rum in this price category, which would not be as sweet as elixirs or A. H. Riise rums.
You may see its beautiful colour of dark honey (experts say nuts), making it a dark rum. With its 12 years of age, the manufacturer lists it among the more luxurious aged rums (in this category, you may go up to the 25-year-old El Dorado rum). Its packaging (as you may see for yourself) is very pretty and even the bottle itself is interesting. The gift packaging makes it an ideal present for rum beginners. Its taste impersonates the Guyana climate near the Demerara river and the name picked by the manufacturer, El Dorado, refers not only to the nickname of the ruler but also to the “city of gold“, which was often the target of Spanish conquistadores.
Prizes
With El Dorado, the Master Distiller of the Demerara distillery really did his job well. It won gold 3 times among 40 Caribbean rums in the competition of Caribbean Week Newspaper. It got 95 out of 100 by Chicago Beverage Tasting Institute. It won several gold medals on Caribbean Rhum Challenge or International Wine & Spirit Competition in London, 2012.
Manufacturing process
The Demerara distillery has a special treat – 9 ways of distilling their rums. The base is blended from unique barrel continuous distillation (Wooden Coffey Continuous Still), used by Demerara Distillers, and a pot-still rum. For optimal final taste, other rums aged 12 to 18 years are added to the blend. These are then aged in oak bourbon barrels.
The smell and taste
You can smell raisins, caramel and honey. On the palate, there are some exotic spices, tobacco and citruses (oranges and orange peel). The taste is quite sophisticated and reveals gradually. People often call this rum sweeter but I would not get into such primitive classifications with a complex taste like this one.
You may get this exceptional rum on the CZ market for prices starting below CZK 600 but I recommend buying from verified seller, Alkohol.cz, delivering to your home (as quickly as within an hour in Prague) for CZK 629.
