Aroma visualization from community tastings
DDL El Dorado 12
Sipped neat or over ice, this drinks soft and sweet: brown sugar, toffee, vanilla and caramel up front, then a woody, lightly spiced tail with hints of coffee and dried fruit. Most people meet it early in their rum life and remember it fondly — "bit sweet but easy going." A few find it thin at 40% and one-dimensional, but it's a genuinely easy Demerara pour.
The community says- Smooth and easy
- Caramel and toffee
- Tastes sweetened
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Buy DDL El Dorado 12:
Compare all 6 shop offers from 32.00 €
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The look inside the bottle
How does DDL El Dorado 12 taste?
Aggregated from 503 community reviews.
Soft, sweet caramel-and-vanilla starter Demerara Loved as an easy, caramel-heavy starter Demerara. Reviewers agree it's smooth and pleasant; the recurring gripes are sweetness, a light body, and less depth than the 15.
People who like sweet, soft, easy sippers and newcomers moving from whisky into rum
Anyone wanting dry, high-proof, complex Demerara with pot-still funk
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
124 of 503 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is DDL El Dorado 12 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.3 sits in the “Good” band. 60% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 3% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
81% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 503 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
One of the community's most-rated rums
Review by LukaŽiga
Most helpful positive review
8,2:The nose is relatively light with fruity notes, held together by a dry, toasty woodiness and warm spices , it begins to deliver its luscious nutty aromas after some rest.With aeration, the sweetness of pecans and maple syrup take over, very tempting indeed. The woodiness is combined with a caramelized, lightly roasted mixture, some vanilla, toffee, chocolate and an American oak notes, like orange peel, apricots and a pinch of smokiness, all very gourmand. 8,2:The palate is very smooth and thick, with juicy prunes and dried grapes, alcohol not felt at all. Nuts and spices then enter the scene, some coffee with caramel, vanilla conveyed by a gentle woodiness with notes of tangy fruit that bring a pinch of astringency. 8:The finish is light and spicy, a bit dry, smooth with some vanilla, exotic fruits are distant and smokiness.. Better than expected.Better than 15y. Edit:11.4.26
Review by Stefan Persson
Most helpful mixed review
It’s quite sweet, almost too sweet. The new 2020 release is therefore much better. It tastes a lot of Demerara sugar. But I believe it’s one of the better entries to the rum world if you still can get a hold of a bottle.
Review by Mitchell Kennedy
The smell is a little bit hot and starts off with a stongish leather and dusty varnish smell. Then a bit more butterscotch and dried fruit comes in. The taste is a little spicy with dark chocolate, caramel, and a bit of the dried raisin flavor along with some spice and wood from the barrel. A couple more sips give some apple and vanilla flavor and some tropical fruit, like pineapple. Finish is medium and taste lightly of dried fruit.
Review by Rumbaer
Vorab: meine Bewertungen ist vom 21.03.2025. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt handelt es sich um einen Rum. Er hat nicht mehr die in der Beschreibung oben angegebenen 35g Zucker. Das wurde mit der EU-Verordnung on 2022 auf Null reduziert. Die alte Version mit viel Zucker hat das rote Logo auf der Flasche. Die neue Abfüllung das schwarze. Der Geruch ist ausgeprägt nach Holz, gefolgt von Gewürzen und Vanille. Nach etwas Zeit im Glas und auch im leeren Glas richtig tolle Tabaknoten. Ich bin Nichtraucher, aber der Geruch holt mich total ab. So ein Gefühl im Mund hatte ich bisher nicht. Ich empfand es wie ein weiches Kissen das sich auf die Zunge legt, würzige, weiche und warme Noten. Schmeckt mir wirklich gut. Toller Rum.
Review by Mirko Frosini 🇮🇪
Significantly lower than the 15-year-old.
Review by Marcus Ekornes
I've tasted the newer unsweetened El Dorado 12, and I absolutely love it.
Review by Luuzi
Beautiful rum. Makes the beginner want more.
Review by David Bonner
Chocolate and treacle
Review by Insta: spiritofbernard 🇫🇷
It's still a must-have to offer to your friends even if the sugar takes over too much.
Review by Abrahan Reyes
There was another version of this one a few years ago which was sweeter, pretty good if you like sweetened rums. This one is more complex and definitely a better sipper than the previous 12 year expression. Caramel and toffee notes are present.
Review by BTHHo 🥃
Very sweet, soft and round, but with good depth and weight. Notes of brown sugar, toffee, vanilla and caramel.
Review by Anonymous Dee
Can’t really go wrong with the Eldorado range however a significant difference between this and the 15. A beautiful entry level decent rum very well balanced and great value for the price.
Review by TheJackDrop
"One of my first crushes, a sure bet. Vanilla, tobacco, fruit, licorice and very accessible. To sum up, my tasting notes: On the nose: Caramel, Glue On the palate: Caramel, Tobacco Finish: Coffee".
Review by Holger
El Dorado 12 is delicious without end for those who like sweet and spicy. Sugar 35-39g/l (3.5%).
Review by zabo
Edit: great for baking. I made rum balls with dark chocolate. Great addictive potential for baking Was one of my first purchases in the rum world. But I don't regret it. But the taste is now a little too sweet for me.
Review by Mark Leggett
Smells of Demerara sugar, butterscotch, vanilla and hints of tobacco. Flavor follows the smell with touches of wood and spice. A sweet week rounded finish. Excellent.
Review by FabiDram
Verkostung 22.12.2023
Review by Montana
A smell of toffee, nut, some molasses, spicy, very pleasant.The taste is also slightly spicy and sweet (but only restrained), becoming slightly bitter in the medium-long finish, but also pleasant.Very pleasant rum.
Review by Timo Groeger
Mmmmmh, a relief from rum after all the garbage of today. Anyway, every point counts :-) Here we have a pleasant sweetness on the nose and palate of vanilla and caramel. Very tasty in any case :-)
Review by Dave Dahlgren
Guyana rum. Diamond distillery och wooden. Swans neck still copper. Molasses is quite unique That gives it a Lil Coffee style. The banan and chocolate. Väldigt lätt len mysig värmande söt. Mer än 19 gram socker tillsatt så då döljer man något. Mindre spritig.
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Expert reviews
4 critics scored it, averaging 6.6/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by RUMprobiert
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Expert review by Rhummer
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Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →Which means that this is probably a rum which not many Rum Enthusiasts will be buying or raving about. It will remain very much for the more casual consumer. It's pleasant enough and creeps into being classified as good but only just.
Expert review by Rum Diaries Blog
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Details about DDL El Dorado 12
A spirit drink on a rum base from Guyana, distilled by Demerara Distillers Ltd, at 40%.
Community purchases
1,298 bottles logged by 1,185 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
38% opened, 218 emptied and repurchased.
What does DDL El Dorado 12 cost?
Community paid 25–48 €.
Current best price: 32.00 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
+23 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
1,298 purchased · 550 tasted · 429 wishlist · as of
About the Demerara Distillers Ltd distillery
The Demerara Distillers Ltd distillery is located in Guyana. Rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd have been reviewed 3,576 times with an average of 7.8/10.
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