Distillery

Demerara Distillers Ltd

Demerara Distillers is the most extraordinary distillery on Earth. As Guyana's only surviving rum maker, its Diamond plant is a living museum that still runs the world's last wooden pot stills and the last wooden Coffey still, alongside modern columns. From them it draws 24 different marks and blends them into El Dorado.

  • Last wooden stills on Earth
  • El Dorado 12 strong value
  • Recent unsweetened reissues improved
Loved by crazyforgoodbooze, Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰, DomM & over 1,200 more

RumX market intelligence

As of July 2026

Community score
7.8/10
ratings
3,576
bottles catalogued
250
available to buy now
55

Find your rum

Tap a filter and we'll show you the matching bottles below.

RumX Guide

The last distillery in Guyana

Read the full guide

Top-rated rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd

Ranked by community score, available bottles first.

Community Compass

For each category the community shows you its favourite: top rated across 300,000 reviews and available right now.

Browse all rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd

Explore our complete collection. Filter by price, rating, distillery, age, and more to find your perfect rum.

Filters

Sort by

Filters

Price (€)

Custom range
Availability

Real market price drops instead of discount labels: RumX monitors 40+ shops around the clock. A drop only counts when the price falls below the previously lowest market price (at least −5%) — we never show shops' own strike-through prices.

Rating

Taste & style

Character
Only rums with a clear character profile
Intensity
For cocktails and mixing: quick filters above the results

Origin

Measured or declared by the producer
Community classified, covers part of the catalog
No bottles from Demerara Distillers Ltd are in stock right now. You're browsing the full archive. Set a price alert

No rums found matching your criteria

Try adjusting your search criteria or clearing some filters.

Award-Winning Rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd

View all RumX Awards →

Best value from Demerara Distillers Ltd

Highest community ratings for the price, from live offers.

Community purchases

5,248 bottles from Demerara Distillers Ltd bought by the community.

+145 purchases in the last 3 months.

Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.

as of

RumX Community

Community reviews: Demerara Distillers Ltd

DDL El Dorado 15 (2020 Release)

Review by Tim

Tim
Tim Top voice
May 2026531 reviewsGermany
8.3/10

After finding out that Guyana rum without added sugar was on offer here, as a Guyana fan I simply had to try it. It was more than worth it. Roasted coffee with caramelized fruit and chocolate shavings. For me, this is THE rum profile par excellence. A little more mature and …

Auto-translated 55 found this helpful
DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend PM/DHE 2014

Review by zabo

zabo
zabo
May 20261,503 reviewsGermany
8.7/10

From memory, I like it a bit more than the other Eldorado blend. I also find the drinking strength of 51.7% quite appropriate and more than enough here. I was really positively surprised.

Auto-translated 23 found this helpful
Velier DDL Guyana (High Proof Old Demerara Rum) 2004

Review by crazyforgoodbooze

crazyforgoodbooze
crazyforgoodbooze Top voice
Mar 20262,468 reviewsGermany
8.8/10

Really nice elegant nose, pure Demerara. Blind, I would guess a mix of Port Mourant and Albion/Skeldon tip because on one hand it comes across very herbal and spicy, on the other hand it brings great sweet, rather heavy notes like cinnamon and coconut. Also very round in taste, …

Auto-translated 17 found this helpful
DDL El Dorado Grand Special Reserve 1997

Review by Fred Tillac

Fred Tillac
Fred Tillac
Jan 202656 reviewsFrance
7.7/10

👃🏼 = Du boisé, de la vanille, orange et abricot confits, du caramel, un peu de fruits à coque et de cannelle.. 👄 = Avec un peu de vivacité ce rhum un peu gras ajoute du chocolat, de la pêche et de la noix de muscade. La finale est courte et tellement douce qu'on veut encore y …

14 found this helpful
DDL El Dorado 3

Review by abaker-rum

abaker-rum
abaker-rum
Nov 202591 reviewsUSA
7.2/10

A muted nose, where you pick up vanilla, coconut, brown sugar, amongst the alcohol. The flavors are great (coconut, crème brule, vanilla) but the alcohol comes through quite strongly even at 80 proof. If the alcohol was integrated better, this would be incredible.

13 found this helpful
DDL El Dorado 25 Grand Special Reserve 1988

Review by Stefan Persson

Stefan Persson
Stefan Persson
Sep 2025676 reviewsSweden
8.9/10

A truly fantastic rum, but it’s always discussable if it’s worth the money. Fantastic nose of Demerara sugar, caramel and chocolate. At the palate it’s very complex, well balanced and elegant and after that a fantastic finish.

63 found this helpful
DDL El Dorado 21

Review by Stefan Persson

Stefan Persson
Stefan Persson
Apr 2025676 reviewsSweden
8.4/10

Completely different from the “12” & “15”, it’s much drier but still a little too sweet. The new 2020 release is even drier and therefore even better, but this old one is still a very good buy in its price range.

60 found this helpful
Rum Nation DDL Demerara Rum Solera No. 14 2017

Review by Martin Ekrt

Martin Ekrt
Martin Ekrt
Jan 2025309 reviewsCzech
7.7/10

Jemná karamelová vůně se sušeným ovocem, vanilkou a trochou ořechů. Je znát i víno. V chuti velká, ale chuťově vyvážená porce karamelu. Nádech kávy a spáleného dřeva. V závěru karamel, sušené datle a káva. Fajn kousek.

The RumX Guide to Demerara Distillers Ltd

The last distillery in Guyana

When Guyana's estates closed one by one, their stills were saved and moved to the Diamond complex south of Georgetown. Today DDL is the country's only rum distillery, running roughly fourteen sets of apparatus that make 24 distinct marks, from a small copper pot to a steel multi-column tower. No distillery anywhere holds this much history under one roof.

The wooden stills

The heart of Diamond is its wood. The Port Mourant double wooden vat still, traced to 1732, is the last of its kind on Earth and the source of the heavy, oily PM mark synonymous with navy rum. Beside it sit the Versailles single wooden vat (VSG) and the Enmore wooden Coffey still from the 1880s (EHP), the only wooden Coffey still left in the world. All are built from greenheart.

Savalle, Coffey and the modern stills

The metal stills are just as storied. The French Savalle column, from the old Uitvlugt distillery, recreates nine marks, including those of vanished estates like Albion and Skeldon. The 1950s Diamond Coffey stills make the SVW mark, and a small John Dore pot makes DHE, a high-ester rum reaching levels Jamaica is not allowed to export. Two modern vacuum columns handle the lighter Diamond Reserve styles.

El Dorado, navy rum and the bulk trade

DDL's own brand is El Dorado, with the 15 Year its signature and the 12 Year the everyday workhorse. Around 60 percent of Diamond's output still leaves in bulk, and if a label says Demerara rum it almost certainly started here: Pusser's, Lemon Hart, Lamb's and Wood's all rely on it. Since around 2016 the Demerara Rum Geographical Indication protects the name.

Most popular vs highest rated

On RumX the official El Dorado range, led by the 21 Year and 15 Year, is the entry point. The highest scores go to aged single-mark rum bottled by independents: Velier and Cadenhead vintages of Uitvlugt, Port Mourant, Albion and Skeldon climb past 9.5/10, with one old Uitvlugt at 9.9. Few distilleries can claim both a supermarket staple and the very top of the collector market.

How the crew scored it Demerara Distillers Ltd

RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.8 sits in the “Good” band. 75% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 2% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →

Flavour profile of Demerara Distillers Ltd

Most frequently mentioned flavors

Aroma

Woody Vanilla Caramel Dried fruit

Taste

Woody Vanilla Caramel Dried fruit

Frequently Asked Questions about Demerara Distillers Ltd

Its own brands El Dorado and Diamond Reserve, plus large volumes of bulk rum for navy-style brands like Pusser’s, Lemon Hart and Lamb’s. Everything is distilled at the one Diamond plant in Guyana.

Three survive: the Port Mourant double wooden vat still (traced to 1732), the Versailles single wooden vat, and the Enmore wooden Coffey still (1880s). They are the last wooden stills of their kind in the world, all built from greenheart and now run at Diamond.

The world’s last working double wooden pot still, traced back to the Port Mourant estate in 1732. It makes the heavy, oily PM mark that defines British navy rum, which brands like Pusser’s and Lamb’s try to emulate.

El Dorado is DDL’s flagship Demerara rum brand, launched internationally in the early 1990s. The 15 Year is its most famous expression, blended from several of Diamond’s stills.

As Guyana’s other distilleries closed, Diamond inherited their stills rather than scrap them, consolidating three centuries of distilling. It now runs about fourteen sets of apparatus and makes 24 different marks, each with its own character.

RumX offers the world’s largest selection of rum through our innovative shop-in-shop marketplace, similar to Amazon. For Demerara Distillers Ltd rums, we currently have 225 offers starting from €15.00 across 32 partner shops including ROW Spirits, Spirit Academy, Rum Piraten, Whiskysite.nl, Rum & Co, delicando. Our platform compares prices in real-time from specialized rum retailers worldwide, ensuring you always find the best deals.

The RumX database currently contains 250 different rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd. This includes various expressions, limited editions, and bottlings across different age statements and proof levels. Our community has contributed over 3576 reviews for Demerara Distillers Ltd rums, making it one of the most comprehensive resources for exploring this brand’s full range. New releases are added regularly as they become available.

According to the RumX community, Cadenhead‘s DDL Pot Still Guyana PDW 1972 29yr 60,9% is currently the highest-rated Demerara Distillers Ltd rum with an impressive rating of 9.1/10 based on 18 reviews. This expression has earned praise for its exceptional quality and represents the pinnacle of what Demerara Distillers Ltd has to offer. However, taste is subjective, and we encourage you to explore the full range to find your personal favorite.
All Demerara Distillers Ltd discussions →
Price alerts · in the RumX app

Unlock the Full RumX Experience

Love rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd? The journey doesn't stop here. Download the RumX app to explore an even more extensive selection of rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd and around the world. With features like collection management, personalized recommendations, tasting notes, and a bustling community of rum enthusiasts, our free app offers the ultimate rum experience, right in your pocket.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play
★ 4.8/5 on App Store & Play Store

Rating guide

RumX's 0–10 scale is strict. Here's what each band means.

9.0–10.0 Excellent Stash as many as you can afford. Tell no one.
8.0–8.9 Very good Bank a backup. Tell everyone you meet.
7.0–7.9 Good Buy one and recommend it to your friends.
6.0–6.9 Pleasant Solid, super glad I drank it.
5.0–5.9 Average Totally acceptable.
4.0–4.9 Drinkable Not vocally complaining.
3.0–3.9 Poor Wish I was drinking something else.
2.0–2.9 Very poor Nothing nice to say.
1.0–1.9 Unpleasant No, that's not for me.
0.1–0.9 Inedible Pour it out.