El Dorado 15 year

Color: deep coppers and garnets. Rich, luxurious, and precious.

Nose: melted maple and molasses still warm to the touch. Freshly oiled leather. Melted brown sugars. Lemon essence. Bananas foster. Sliced Washington apples. Maple and molasses and brown sugar coat everything without overwhelming.

Body: pours dreamy, swirls oily and sticky, and lingers long after each swirl. Thick without being cloying. Decadent. Creamy and silky up front, sticky in the middle, dry along the side, and warm in the back.

Palate: maple and molasses aged to perfection coats the lips with each smacking sip. The breath is warm with brown sugar flambéed apples and bananas – foster anyone? Orange oils and leather. Gently mouth-coating.

Finish: warm spicy heat lingers in the chest. Leather. Bitter and dry and sweet all at once. One last hug of maple brown sugar melted but not burnt.

Amen, hallelujah, and peanut butter! When I tasted the 12 year and subsequently raved about it as it righteously deserved, everyone said that as good as the 12 year was…the 15 year was better. Considering they are all vaunted burgundians of fabulously diverse nature, I trusted their words of judgment absolutely. It took me longer than initially anticipated to crack into the 15 year rum from El Dorado but the unintentional wait just made it all that more divine.

And for those still in shock at the idea of a number attached to rum, this isn’t your cheap mass-produced craptastic rum mixers I am referring to. In fact, aged rum has an older richer history than the newer clear white distillate of today which barely resembles the spirituous cane of yesterday. Embroiled in a not so glorious past (criminals, detention camps, slave trade, piracy), the spirit itself is very much so glorious. El Dorado is especially unique because it is made from Demerara sugar. Located in the heart of Guyana, El Dorado offers a respectable range of ages along with some quality mixing rums. Do I personally like mixed rum drinks? Depends on the drink and the rum.

Speaking of mixing, though the age designation on this bottle stands at a proud 15, that doesn’t mean that she is all of only 15 years old, no younger nor older. Truth be told, the designation on aged spirits typically represents the youngest spirit of the overall blend (versus single batch bottles). The El Dorado 15 year has rums in her going so far as 25 years, maybe even older. That means that no rum younger than 15 is in her now glassed-in confines aching to break free and titillate the tastebuds as she did mine. If you don’t believe me, fine. Than allow me to take that bottle off your hands for someone who will appreciate it better – me.

Sharing can be rather overrated after all.

(an original written work by Kristyn Lier. plagiarism is not tolerated)