More Liquid Gold From Guyana
 We recently reported on the October Rum Club event [click here for a reminder] and the fact that the night inself was the star. With so many good things (mostly social) it seemed that to actually write the rum up within the piece would have been a shame. A new offering from Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) has to be taken seriously and fortunately it doesn't disappoint!
The sparsely populated country of Guyana in South America represents the meeting of several distinct cultures over the years - from African to Indian and British to Brazilian. The vast unspoilt rainforest shelters an amazing diversity of wildlife and outstanding natural beauty. Within this backdrop, DDL is the only distillery in the region to survive to the modern day and is committed to preserving the 300+ years of traditional production techniques. It operates the only remaining wooden Coffey still in the world, as well as the only wooden pot still - both of which contribute to the distinctive flavour profiles of the El Dorado range.
 The El Dorado range has a 3 year old white rum, the 5 year old golden rum (which is very familiar to TheFloatingRumShack.com) and then used to jump to the 12, 15 21 and 25 year old expressions. The family had a space for an 8 year old and now that the moment is right - it's been brought to the market. George Robinson, the Director of Distillery Operations and master blender told us at Rum Club, that DDL always listen to their customers - the call had come and DDL had answered. It seems to make good financial sense as well. The 5yo is very affordable, with the 12 and above needing a little more commitment. The circa £24 price tag of the 8yo means that at least it falls into price bracket that we would consider more readily.
The official launch of El Dorado 8 Year Old was at Trailer Happiness on the 26th of October and so is still extremely new to the UK market. Perhaps too early to be judged properly in terms of market success, but the reviews we have seen look promising - take the following comments from Class Magazine July 2009, in which Simon Difford writes: “A spicy, treacle leads to a rich, full bodied palate with honeyed fruitcake, Vanilla, toffee, butterscotch, fudge and orange marmalade note which seemingly sits above everything else. Ginger and nutmeg contribute to the spicy notes which are enduring flavours in the long finish. Be warned this is a big rum”. I'm no expert, but I'm not going to disagree with Simon on that one. There seems to be a lot of rum for your money.
The release notes from Inspirit Brands, the UK importer has the following to say about El Dorado 8 Year Old: The rum has essences of citrus peel, poached pear with a hint of vanilla, currents, raisins, dates, and quince. On the palate you get cinnamon, Brazil nuts and charred wood overlaying a background molasses characteristic. Tobacco, leather, ripe bananas, all spice and gingerbread come through at the end. The finish is smooth and mellow, with a clean finish leaving a citrus, nutty finish. Overall it is long with smoky fruit and light spicy notes adding depth.
If you want to get one for yourself, its available from The Whisky Exchange as follows:
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-10914.aspx
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