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El Dorado 3 Year Old white rum review

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El Dorado 3 Year Old white rum review

Brendan Hodrien

Published: February 24, 2021 at 10:27 AM

5.0

A star rating of 5.0 out of 5.

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Want to buy a bottle of white rum? Read our expert review of this sugary, nutty spirit, one of the best-value white rums out there (and perfect for making daiquiris).

El Dorado 3 Year Old white rum (40% ABV) summary

El Dorado was once a mythical kingdom made of gold. Now, it's a mythically good rum. This Demerara rum is the flag bearer for the Guyanese industry, once numbering hundreds of operations, but now consolidated into the prolific Diamond Distillery. This sugary, nutty spirit is unbeatable at its price point and is perfect in a daiquiri.

What's the story behind El Dorado 3 Year Old white rum?

Rum is distilled from the molasses left over from sugar processing, so thrifty plantation owners in Guyana would nearly always have their own booze operation running in-house. So, it comes as no surprise that the place that gave us demerara sugar also gave us one of the world’s most well-adored rums.

In the 1600s, the Dutch colonised Guyana, and reclaimed some of its land that was lost to the Atlantic Ocean. They eventually recovered the lost county of Demerara, which had soil that was rich in nutrients and minerals, making it incredibly fertile and ideal for planting sugar.

The fertile land gave rise to some 380 sugar plantations, but the rise of European sugar beet in the 20th century caused mayhem. By the 1940s, there were just nine distilleries left, and these were eventually consolidated into the Diamond Distillery.

The El Dorado brand appeared in the 70s, and was named after the legend of the lost city of gold.

What does El Dorado 3 Year Old taste like?

This rum is truly unbeatable at its price point. The bottle picked up a gold medal at the International Review of Spirits, and is a simple spirit that delivers just what you want from a mixing rum: burnt brown sugar and a subtle earthiness matched by punchy pepper.

The El Dorado 3 Year Old is perfectly suited to any number of cocktails, but we love it in a classic daiquiri. Simply pour 50ml rum into a cocktail shaker along with 25ml lime juice, 10ml sugar syrup and some ice, then shake well before straining into a cocktail glass.

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This review was last updated in February 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.