El Dorado 12-Year

It took me several days to finally find a bottle of this fantastic 12-year-old rum from Guyana. I had not had it in quite some time and forgot about how good it is. I did remember doing a side by side taste test years ago between the 12 year old and 15 year old. I still remember that the 12 year old was the better buy and it is the only vintage that is always sold out at any local liquor store. Many others obviously agree.

The flavors are so complex that they change with each neat sip. It would be an absolute disgrace to use this rum as a mixer. The only reason that I have not rated this one as a perfect 10 is that there are no doubt a few better rums out there that I have not tried, but not at this low price of only $31.

There is a phrase in bourbon jargon called "too long in the wood". This simply means that optimum aging for spirits is 9-12 years. Anything beyond 12 years actually detracts from the perfect taste by adding wooden barrel flavors (a case in point is Flor de Cana 18). Those who prefer the higher aged rums either like that woody whiskey flavor or simply need to justify spending the extra money on their bottles. However, if I see one of those 21 year old rums at a bar, I may try just one shot for the heck of it. I would probably feel like a fool for buying a whole bottle. If anything works, don't fix it.

Update: My last bottle is now long gone, but deemed to be one of only two sugar bombs worth replacing. The other sugar bomb is Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. My new bottle will remain unopened for quite some time. When finally opened, I will record that date in my spreadsheet to make sure that it gets consumed within two months. Sugar bombs never last beyond 3-4 months due to oxidation in the bottle.

Update August 4, 2019: After finding many damn good dry rums, I now find this overly sugared rum not so appealing as from first sip. My rating now drops down from a 9 to a 6. It has gone from delightful to disgusting in only a matter of six weeks after opening. Stay away from all sugar bombs like this one!!!!

Update February 16, 2022: Since this was my favorite "premium rum" years before starting on this great website, I decided to buy another bottle today for old time's sake. My, have I come a long way!!! I still rate this one no higher than a 6, but not down to 5 or below to never be bought again.

Since this sugar bomb cannot be consumed neat, on the rocks, or with sweet cola added to it, I had to come up with a list of the best three things to be done with this overly sweetened rum.

1) Find a cheap and boring dry rum that you wound up getting stuck with and add this to your taste to reduce the sugar content of this while adding sugar to the dry rum

2) Combine two parts premium coconut water that is naturally sweet to one part of this rum.

3) Save this one to be added to your early morning coffee every now and then.

These after notes also help me at some time down the road when I have forgotten all about what I originally thought about a rum. I hope that these after notes also help you.

Update December 3, 2023: Thinking that the new laws for only allowing 20 gpl maximum of added sugar for a spirit to be qualified as a rum only pertained to the EU, I searched recent reviews on Total Wine & More's website. One of them specifically stated that these rums with less added sugar are now also available in the USA. So for $37, I plunked down my money for my first bottle of this spirit in about two years. This was a minimal risk. When I got it home, it certainly did not taste like the old sugar bomb that had 39 gpl of added sugar. This one is borderline semi-dry or sweet, so I adjusted the added sugar in my spreadsheet to 19 gpl as a guess and changed my classification to semi-dry. It still deserves no higher than a 7 on my rating. It has now been upgraded to a good buy, but not an excellent one.