El Dorado 12 Year

Review Update  El Dorado 12 Year Old Special Reserve Rum (93.5pts)
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted April 7, 2010

Demerara County (in Guyana) is popular across the world for its rich, three hundred year history of rum production. Using a combination of old wooden stills in conjunction with modern stills and distilling techniques, Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL) has built a reputation for outstanding quality and consistent production. In fact, Demerara Distillers is the currently the largest supplier of bulk Caribbean rums to Europe and North America.

In The Bottle 5/5

The El Dorado bottles for the 12 yr, 15 yr and 21 yr old rums have a kind of old school charm that looks great on my rum shelf.  I like the fact the they come in nice display boxes and that the bottles are opaque rather than clear.  Finally they all have quality cork toppers which for me is the final requirement for a quality presentation.

El Dorado 12Yr old

In the Glass  9.5/10

This really is a great rum to look at and to smell in the glass.  Spicy oak tannin provides a nice backdrop for the sweet baking spices and molasses that rise from the glass.  There are hints of orange peel, and citrus weaving in the aroma and I have a hard time finding fault.

The rum displays nice legs on the side of the glass when swirled and I am tempted to give a perfect score.

In My mouth 56/60

This rum enters my mouth with a spicy sweet baking spice explosion.  Deep dark brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, hints of orange peel and citrus fruit lay upon a foundation of spicy wood tannins.  This is sweet but not overwhelmingly so. A soft nuttiness lies under the other flavours and is more of a sensation than a flavour.

In My Throat 14/15

This has a long spicy finish which leaves the mouth and throats heated.  The spicy oak, and baking spices last and last in the mouth and throat in a marvelous combination.

The Afterburn 9/10

I find that the sweetness of the rum is perfectly balanced with the oakiness.  The rum hits the right spots for me in so many ways.  I also appreciate the robustness of the El Dorado 12 Yr flavour.  I tried this rum in many different settings and in many different cocktails, and it pleased me almost completely every time.

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Suggested Cocktail

The El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum can and should be sipped neat or with ice. It really is that good! The cocktails which I found that enhanced the experience were ones which used a foil spirit like Amaretto or Grand Marnier to offset the oaky tannins of the El Dorado 12 year Old. Here are a few Recipes:

The El Padrino
(Spanish for Godfather)

The name El Padrino fits perfectly as a premium aged oaky rums  such as El Dorado 12 may truly be called the Godfather of Rums!

2 oz      El Dorado 12 Year Rum
1 oz       Amaretto
1/8 oz  Fresh Lemon Juice

Method:
Build on ice in small rocks glass
Garnish with a thin slice of lemon.

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In order to bring this cocktail to the level of quality I was seeking, I used the most excellent Louis Alexandre Grand Marnier in conjunction with the El Dorado 12 Year.

The Royal Batiste

1 1/2 oz   El Dorado 12 Year Rum
1/2 oz       Louis Alexandre Grand Marinier

Build in a cocktail Glass on one Large Ice Cube

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For those who want to know, ‘batiste’ refers to an extremely soft and elegant  cotton  fabric first produced in France.  Baptiste of Cambrai a (13th Century weaver) is credited with its first production.  My cocktail thus refers to the soft and elegant nature of the two spirits used which make this a drink fit for Royalty.

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

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:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)