Hamilton 86 Demerara

Appearance is deep amber. Aroma: Esters, molasses, caramel, vanilla, and brown sugar dominate with some warm spicy notes - nice! Taste: Sweetness, probably from esters, with spices, caramel, vanilla, and molasses. Reminiscent of a rum raisin cookie. Finish is scorched caramel. Mouthfeel: Medium-full, with light burn.
Okay for sipping, especially with a few drops of water.
Other: Synthetic T cork; it is a bit tight

I had tasted this before and have been using it as a dark rum mixer for a while. I did a pretty decent rum tasting today for my wife and I and I was surprised by just how much oak this has in it. We tasted it alongside Pampero Aniversario and Blackwell Jamaican dark rum and while it was well received the amount of oak flavor present was more than expected. The nose has nice notes of alcohol, caramel, smoke, oak and a hint of spice and tropical fruit. The taste is slightly sweet, again a hints of dark fruit, cherries and spice, but very strong oak flavor. I will still use this as a dark rum mixer but I am now more aware of the potential for that oak flavor to pop up in some more delicate recipes. I can definitely see how this is similar to the basis for some of the El Dorado expressions as well, and I prefer this iteration without the added sugar. Not one I would entertain as a sipper though.

Big rum tasting last night. Nice picture of unique rum collection. This is a solid Guyanese rum! Not extra aged but just great blend of Diamond Distillery’s rums. Not to much emphasis on Port Mourant. A bit of a younger rum burn drinking straight but should be great mixer and more. I think it earns a solid 7. Not the aged depth or added sweetness as Eldorado 12-21 but at $35 bottle solid rum liked by everyone at our tasting not knowing the price.

Love the tobacco, chocolate, and cherry notes that make this bottle great. It’s a great sipper, and great for the price.

I'm a big fan of demerara heavy rums. I also prefer it as a simple compared to standard white sugar in most drinks. As such, I'm a big fan of this rum.

Nose: Burnt caramel, creme brûlée, brown sugar, rubber, cola

Palate: very smooth, caramelized sugar, oak, cola gummy bears, burnt sugar, dark chocolate, smokiness

Finish: short finish, medium burn, not overwhelming, oak, burnt sugar

So this rum comes from the same distillery that produces El Dorado. However, unlike those premium lines this is a pure rum with no added sugar. In other words this is an original demerara. This a wonderful example of the original, traditional style of rum from Guyana as it is originally produced before the premium market. On the nose you get burnt caramel, creme brûlée, brown sugar, rubber and something like cola gummy bears. Fascinating. Once you take a sip you get a wonderfully complex mix of flavors on the tongue. It is an extraordinarily smooth sip despite having 0g of added sugars. In fact this is probably the smoothest pure rum I have ever had. As the rum spreads through your mouth you get Caramelized Sugar, Brown Sugar, those cola gummy bears, a nice bite of oak overlaid by smokiness and a mouthful of dark chocolate. The finish is fairly short with a medium burn but it is not overwhelming at all. Minutes after putting the glass down the taste of burnt sugar and oak lingers in your cheeks. In some respects its like El Dorado 15 with the sweetness dialed down, but not removed...which in a way makes sense, since it is the same underlying rum. I am not a purist by any means, but I can't decide which of these I like more. Considering I got a full 750ml bottle for $17 and the ED15 costs $40, this is nothing short of amazing. I am so glad I got an extra bottle of this. I think I will be keeping this one around - especially since by all accounts it ranks as one of the best mixing rums of all times. I am impressed. Well done Mr. Hamilton.

I've only tried Pusser's as far as Demerara rum goes to this point. This has wonderful dry brown sugar notes. Demerara and oak notes meld with vanilla and spice on the back end. The finish is nice, long, and delightful.

It’s akin to Lemon Hart 1804.
Good solid Demerara rums for use in tiki drinks, both overshadowed by their distillery’s much stronger (151) expression.
But good flavors, and reasonably priced.

Plenty of burnt brown sugar with a hint of something earthy or almost maraschino liquor-like. Really lovely.

This is a very thick heavy molasses rum. Old school tiki drinks adorn this.

Tastes of dark raisins dark chocolate molasses and some charred wood

Great for the OG trader Vic Mai Tai