El Dorado Special Reserve 15-Year

This is superior to the 12 year in my opinion by a decent margin. They are different for sure, but this is much more to my liking. In fact it is almost the opposite of the 12 year. The nose is almost overwhelming with heavy Banana and molasses and just a touch of tobacco. Imagine smelling a jar of concentrated molasses made from banana. If you take too deep of a whiff it is overwhelming. It almost made me worry about the taste...but....nope, it is delicious. The first taste is pure nutmeg and honey. Mid palate the banana returns in full force along with butter, butterscotch, nutmeg, rum cake, honey, and just a hint of fine tobacco. The aftertaste is sour cherry, alcohol, and allspice with banana lingering in the background. The only reason this isn’t a full 9 is that there is a slight lingering sourness that remains that I can’t quite place. The nose and palate to this rum are so powerful and complex that they make sipping this a wonderful experience.

*Update* So the more I drink this rum, the more I enjoy it. Further, despite other reviews, 6 months after having opened the bottle, the originals flavors and notes are still present and the rum has not degraded much despite the reported higher sugar level. Therefore given my increased level of enjoyment and shelf life beyond expectation, I am bumping this rum up a point.

Nose: 9
Palate: 9
Aftertaste: 8
Smoothness: 9
Versatility: 9
Price: 9

Total: 8.8

ElD from the standard range.
The composition of the aromas is very good, it is rich and sweet.
You can taste the MDXC (Demerare column still), Enmore and Port Mourant still here.

It's very good for the price. Diamond rum with this sweetness... exceptionaly good.
It offers something of everything. It's a little bit dry and heavy and spicy and sweet and fruity.
I like the 43% abv in this rum, it gives him a strong character.
I like especially the honey notes with molasses.
This is the initial taste here. The more you drink, the more delicious it becomes. I would rate it with 81 points.

Smell: honey, molasses, caramel, dried fruits, cocoa, raisins, papaya, citrus, some glue, vanilla, wood, spice
Taste: caramel, honey, mince, cocoa, burned sugar, dried fruit (plum, raisins with nuts), spice, liquorice, riped tropical fruits (mango, papaya)
Finish: honey with papaya, cocoa
Nice aftertaste, peppermint, honey, burned sugar on the palet, cocoa

Sweetness: 3.5 / 5
Spice: 3 / 5
Fruits: 3.5 / 5
Mildness: 3.5 / 5
Complexity: 4/5
Intensity: 3.5/5
Value (25€ to 35€): 5/5

Country: Guyana
Distillery: Demerara (mixed stils, but Enmore is charasteristic)

thedanzadude review on reddit:
"The El Dorado 15 is blended from rums that are distilled in the Enmore and Diamond Coffey stills, the Port Mourant double wooden pot still and the Versailles single wooden pot still.
It is then aged in charred oak casks that formerly housed bourbon. The Enmore and Diamond Coffey stills tend to produce rums that are medium bodied and very fruity, while the Port Mourant double and Versailles single wooden pot stills produce very heavy bodied rums that are very rich and aromatic. As a result of the masterful blending of these disparate rum styles, the El Dorado 15 that is the finally produced is very much like a dry, fruity rum and a sweet, complex, heavy rum that have been well married."

Sugar Added: 31 g/L

Tasteful Guyana rum. Similar to the 12 year old, except that it's not so sweet and more mature roundness to it.

I think that rums with gold medals arent't good at all and overrated. This rum is a dissapointment for me. Odor strong alcoholic, OK the taste is not that bad at all; but the leaving is just harsh and woody. AND there is 37g/l sugar added - so you have a somewhat bad rum made sweeter for the mass. No thanks.

It’s as smooth and complex as Zacappa XO which costs much more.

There’s a slight burn which fades away very quickly and than this one opens with a ton of flavors. Sweetness in a form of toffife caramel burnt nuts and a ton more. Aftertaste lasts for a whole minute.

I liked the 12 years on a rocks but this one is to be enjoyed on it’s one.

This one is a must.

The 15 year old isn’t as sweet as 12 year old one. It’s a quite complex rum. It’s very well balanced and you can taste nuts, fruit and some vanilla.
In my opinion it’s a rum that set some kind of standard which you always can go back to when you rate rum. If you feel that a rum is better than the “15” it’s always worth buying.

Don’t taint this liquid elixir with anything other than ice. Nice clean finish. Brings to mind sweet molasses. Light burn.

Vanilj och frukt, lite rök och smak av cognac. Fyllig. En bra rom

En riktigt fin rom med ljuvligt och väldoftade arom. Rund i smaken är den får rulla runt på tungan. Färgen är absolut tilltalande och formen på flaskan har det rätta utseendet.
Denna rom ska absolut prövas.

Had this as part if a flight including Appleton 12 year and Pyrat XO reserve 15 and found this to be the sweetest of the three, least influenced by oak. The description provided said "Dark coffee,candied orange,dark chocolate and vanilla"...all of which did a nice job of explaining what I was trying to distinguish when I smelled the drink. This was Bevens favorite of the three.