DDL El Dorado 21
Loved by Stefan Persson, Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰 & 30 more
A newcomer‑friendly yet mature Demerara sipper: soft 43% ABV with sweet caramel, vanilla, dried fruits and gentle oak. RumX members see it as an easy, dessert‑leaning evening pour rather than a powerhouse.
- Very smooth
- Rich caramel sweetness
- Pleasant woody notes
+9
Details about DDL El Dorado 21
How does DDL El Dorado 21 taste?
Aggregated from 148 community reviews.
Sweet, smooth, oak-aged dessert sipper A newcomer‑friendly yet mature Demerara sipper: soft 43% ABV with sweet caramel, vanilla, dried fruits and gentle oak. RumX members see it as an easy, dessert‑leaning evening pour rather than a powerhouse.
Those who enjoy sweet, velvety rums with caramel, chocolate and gentle oak and want an easy, low-ABV Demerara sipper for relaxed evenings or on the rocks.
Anyone avoiding added sugar, enthusiasts seeking cask-strength intensity or high complexity, and buyers focused on maximum value for money.
How is DDL El Dorado 21 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 7.6 lands squarely in the "Good" band. 75% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Based on 148 ratings
Review by Stefan Persson
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.
Review by Oliver
Not much better than the 15somewhat riper/woodier
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
The best of the 12 year old and 15 year old in one bottle 😊
Review by cigares
A woody, vanilla nose, dried fruit and brown sugar, with a little too much alcohol. The first palate is a little acqueous, then the spices and dried fruit become more powerful. The finish is very short, with a slightly bitter woodiness. Quite a nice nose, but a disappointing palate and a finish that's far too short.
Review by BjörnNi 🥃
Very well done... simply good
Review by Timo Groeger
Day trip Baltrum September 2024. Sturm-Eck pub. A rather sweet rum, vanilla, wood and caramel on the nose. Then chocolate, wood and spices on the palate. All in all a little sweet, but still really okay.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,3:On the nose, sulphurous, coppery, roasted wood notes like caramel, leather, sweet, dried fruits like raisins, prunes, cherry, citrus fruits, spicy, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, dried apricots and tropical fruits are out, coffee, the molasses is earthy with tobacco, dark with licorice. 7,9:On the palate, the attack is sweet with roasted wood notes like caramelized Demerara sugar, dark chocolate, leather, caramel, spicy with baking spices, fruity with dried apricots, prunes and raisins, citrus fruits and dried sour cherry, some fruits are candied, the molasses is thick, dark with licorice, sulphurous and coppery tones also appear. 7,8:The finish is medium long, sweet, dry and tannic, with notes from the palate lingering on..
Review by Manuel
Very smooth Guyana rum. In my opinion, the alcohol could be better integrated. Otherwise, woody influences, vanilla and a sweet finish. However, this Guyana rum was not enough for a top rating.
Review by Tim
Despite the low 43%, this rum has enough power on the nose and palate. Nice harmonious notes that goes mainly in the direction of cream toffee, milk chocolate and coffee on the nose and peppery spiciness, spices and bitter flavors in the mouth. This version is still sweetened, though not immoderately like other brands. Perhaps a bit unbalanced by the bitterness, the sweetness can not quite smooth it out.
Review by Jakob
Classic Demerara profile with a heavy sweetness and beautiful woody notes. Very good entry-level rum in the Guyana rum world, now also with a revised recipe and therefore less additive sweetness. Beautiful sipping rum.
Review by heckto🥃
A very pleasant aroma of caramel and wood. It starts with a slight spiciness on the palate, but this then gives way to the taste of chocolate, tropical fruit and vanilla. Long woody finish.
Review by MarcT
I am a bit disappointed, DDL has so many stills at their disposal, and this is an opportunity missed. It is OK to sip, blind I might think of it as an old sweetened Solera. And sweet it is, to the point that it loses its character. Fruit, Caramel and at the end wood, accompanied by lots of sweetness. I heard, the newer releases have less to no sugar, and am actually interested if they are an improvement. This is clearly aimed at the mass market, and not at enthusiasts, sadly.
Review by wrighty03
Had in Becketts Exeter- silky smooth.
Review by Gregor
Wow was ein schönes rundes Brett. Leider ein bisschen zu Süß. Aber trotzdem intensive Noten von Schokolade und Kokosnuss aber auch viel Holz und gewürze. Sollte man probieren wenn man gesüßtem rum offen gegenüber steht
Review by JonasTh
super tasty. Similar to 15y. Price difference 15y not worth it
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Expert reviews
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 Rhummer
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Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
"However it is different. It's different enough to consider a purchase. It may initially not seem that much better than the 15 year old for the money. Then again it just re-inforces what fantastic value the 15 Year Old is. If you like Demerara rums there would be few better..."Read full review →
Expert review by Rum Diaries Blog
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Community purchases
239 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.
Also on the wishlist of 76 members.
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, together with Jakob, Robert and Lukas, we started RumX in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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