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DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend LBI/DHE 2012
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Don't buy this expecting a funk bomb — despite the "High Ester" label, almost everyone agrees the esters are tame. What you get instead is a rich Guyana profile: chocolate, caramel, roasted coffee, coconut and dried fruit, with a creamy body. Several tasters blind-guessed Foursquare or NY94. The 57% is well-integrated for most, though a few find the alcohol slightly forward.
The community says- Rich chocolate-caramel
- Long roasted finish
- Keep in mind: Not really high-ester
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The look inside the bottle
How does DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend LBI/DHE 2012 taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
Rich chocolate Demerara, not the ester bomb Loved as a rich, chocolatey Demerara, but the "high ester" name misleads — the funk barely shows. Most agree it's a very tasty El Dorado, just not the ester bomb expected.
Aroma profileFans of rich, chocolatey Guyana rum
Anyone chasing real Jamaican-style ester funk
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
47 of 89 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
Buying advice
Is it right for you?
Yes, if you're after bold, mature, oaky rums for sipping neat. Of 103 rums from Guyana in this style with at least the same score that ship to you, none is cheaper.
Similar in style and available now.
Drier
DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend PM/DHE 20148.7/10 (48)160.00 €
33 rated both: 16 scored it higher, 9 scored DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend LBI/DHE 2012 higher, 8 gave both the same score.More intense
Versailles El Dorado Rare Collection VSG 20028.4/10 (116)199.57 €
Similar rating, cheaper
Elixir Distillers of London Black Tot Rum Master Blender's Reserve 20218.5/10 (156)127.46 €
Woodier
Enmore El Dorado Rare Collection EHP 19938.5/10 (127)211.90 €
Rated better
Albion El Dorado Rare Collection AN 20049.0/10 (298)330.00 €
What does the community say?
89 community reviews
Rating scale & review checks
On RumX, 7 means “Good” and 8 means “Very good”.
See the full rating guideHow ratings are made and how we check them ›The website shows a selection of written reviews. The distribution also includes ratings without text. All published reviews are available in the RumX app.
44 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 89 ratings, including those without text.
Review by DomM
Most helpful positive review
Finally we have a convincing El Dorado OB again! On the nose the LBI is in the focus with coconut, vanilla, caramel and some chocolate. The DHE adds some glue-y notes and fresh fruits. The blend works very nice on the nose providing a nice and (more) complex twist on a nice Guyana column still nose. On the palate the DHE is more present - some funk and fruit notes alongside vanilla, chocolate and some wood. Nice creamy texture.
Review by F.L.O.
Most helpful mixed review
Now I really thought it would be a high ester beast like DOK or HOGO monster. Far from it. Delicious roasted notes, lots of chocolate, a bit of honey. Also the fruit and roasted almonds are present. But where is the ester bomb fruit explosion? The alcohol is a bit too present on my tongue personally and slightly overwhelms the aroma.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4819 17.08.2024 Tasting with Mads from Romhatten. This one is also a retaste that wasn't added in time 😊 Nose Wood, light roasted, cinnamon, faint caramel, plum, faint mint, pineapple, faint nutts. Palate Oily, round, balanced, wood, light roasted, faint chocolate, light caramel, prunes, cinnamon, faint nutts, warm. Finish Medium to long, wood, light roasted, dried fruit, faint nutts, warm, spice, light caramel.
Review by zabo
Nice addition to the El Dorado range. I just don’t really get the High Ester thing. The label and description don’t deliver what’s promised. Apart from that, a very successful rum. Needs a bit of time in the glass though. I think it’s very good. Like @Basti already mentioned, you can spot a slight New Yarmouth parallel. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. 😉
Review by Galli33
Here we have a great rum from Guyana, from the Pot Still with the very interesting Mark LBI/DHE. Fans of Jamaican esters will unfortunately search in vain here for familiar notes like grilled pineapple, glue, fermented fruits etc. Here we have a rum that offers a really nice and full Guyana experience. I like it🤙🏻😎
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Really nice new addition at El Dorado. Pure Guyana. Caramelized Demerara sugar meets roasted coconut, bitter orange, and very dark bittersweet chocolate, along with strong mocha and salted caramel. Really exciting and very tasty! Overall, I expected more funk with the term "high ester." But for that, it's an incredibly aromatic and delicious El Dorado in its purest form! I would actually love to buy it, this thing is a blast!
Review by Johannes
For my taste, it could be a little rounder. It reminds me most of an El Dorado Diamond 98 CBH, but younger, more molasses, not as harmonious and round, fruitier, a little citrus, less sticky. Alcohol is not optimally integrated.
Review by Serge
Beautiful notes of coconut, chocolate, demerara sugar and dried fruit with a slightly estery underlying fruitiness. Little enough ester to remain elegant. Enough esters to stand out from the rest of the range. For me, the best ED apart from the Rare Collection. If you're only after esters, you'll be disappointed, I like it quite a lot.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
I was really curious about this bottling and it did not disappoint! A super demerere-branded flavor profile: chocolate, coffee, caramel in an extremely mouthwatering taste! Too bad only for the finish that goes off right away if not I would have given it a much higher rating!
Review by Basti
Very accessible aromas on the nose, strongly reminiscent of some NY94 bottlings. Chocolate, vanilla, caramel, popcorn, dried fruit, spices and some coconut are very present. I really like it. Almost everything the nose promised can be found in the mouth. I had actually expected a little more "funk" to come across here in addition to the accessible aromas due to the high ester content. In the end, it's a delicious rum with a profile very similar to Foursquare/NY94, but it doesn't really stand out from other bottlings. Edit: 3rd tasting (sample now unfortunately empty :( ) and now I perceive a dominant coffee note and also a good portion of malt. Almost in the direction of Skeldon. I still really like it, or rather I like it a little better and I give it another +0.1.
Review by Mirco
Very tasty. The nose and palate directly the heavy unmistakable Demerara sweetness. I don't perceive esters particularly. Had expected more there. Nevertheless a great rum that knows how to convince.
Review by cigares
Rum tasted at the GRF in Berlin in 2026. La Bonne Intention blended with a tiny bit of 'high ester' rum of the Jamaican type but from Guyana (DHE = Diamond High Esters) according to the recipes of H. H. Cousins. There is an intentional contrast here between a classic Guyanese rum and these extreme esters. Surprisingly, the blend works. The first sip is ample, rich with a nice acidity, then the Guyanese aromas rise. The finish is beautiful, on typical Guyanese aromas and at the very end a long-lasting bitter caramel remains.
Review by Jakob
Delicious demerara profile with a rich sweetness of toffee, treacle and chocolate. There are also dark spices and café au lait as well as subtle astringent notes. On the palate, the high-ester flavors are found again in a somewhat bitter and astringent form and definitely stand up to the sweet demerara spectrum. I can't help but wonder whether the individual components of this blend wouldn't have worked better on their own - bare theory, of course. As it is, the release remains a very pleasing rum, but I find the overall spectrum somewhat unbalanced.
Review by Tschusikowsky
Great inviting nose, harmonious mouthfeel and a creamy finish. I find the rum appealing, even though I don’t really taste the ester content very prominently. Still a nice Demerara rum.
Review by Beancheese
Picked this one up because I was curious to see what the high ester would impart. The nose is fairly straightforward but nice. Chocolate, caramel, soft spices, some fruitiness and obviously some wood. There are some glue notes in the mix as well. On the palate it ain’t bad. Pretty similar to the nose, this one is all about chocolate and caramel, with vanilla and other soft, warm, baking spices, balanced out with some dry wood. Creamy texture. The alcohol is perceptible - not troubling, but it could be better integrated. All said, this one is no ‘ester bomb’, but as long as you put that aside, it’s quite a pleasant rum. Pretty decent value as well.
Review by TheJackDrop
I expected much more, but it's still nice. The esters aren't present to much, but the nose opens up slowly to popcorn, chocolate and roasted hazelnuts, followed by white pepper on the palate. It's very good, a little heavy perhaps, but very greedy.
Review by Skyfly
If I had read the reviews beforehand, I probably would have known that you're looking for "High Ester" in vain here. The whole composition strongly reminds me of an FSQ and has parallels to 94er NY. From start to finish, a well-rounded thing and really tasty!
Review by Felix Reiber
Very tasty El Dorado with fewer esters than expected. Blind, I would also have guessed a Foursquare. On the nose, I get caramel, wood, chocolate, leather, and vanilla. Then pleasant notes of dried fruits, spices, crème brûlée, roasting, and nutmeg come through. On the palate, I have chocolate, caramel, spices, mocha, vanilla, toasted oak, sweet fruits, and coconut. Creamy toffee and burnt Demerara sugar bring a nice fullness. The medium-long finish lives on cappuccino, caramel, wood, dark chocolate, coffee, dried fruits, vanilla, crème brûlée, and roasted notes. The great caramel notes and the full-bodied complexity of the aromas really bring joy. Thanks to @DrDjango for the good sample 😀
Review by Jussi Piirainen
Have to review this before my NYC trip to see if this bottle is worth of buying. On the nose: Lovely caramel, vanilla and chocolate with roasted notes. Woody notes and spicy notes. Abv seems to be integrated perfectly. Balanced. Taste: Chocolate, caramel, vanilla with toasted coffee mouthfeel. Dark and rich notes. Wood notes. Demerera sugar notes appear in the end. Balanced. Delicious. The abv is integrated perfectly. Finish: Long finish. Caramel and more dark chocolate notes. Roasted coffee are now also stronger. Touch of salt. Finishes of as a mildly bitter in the end. Looks like I have to buy this rum and so should you. Absolutely delicious!
Review by Ian Gilman
Wow, this is a fantastic rum! It’s almost like the sour industrial funk snuck into chocolately Guyanese rum — but these are clearly not the same esters that dominate LROK or DOK. The strong sour cherry paired with the darker notes in here are sublime.
Review by Michael Schou
15-04-2025 - Rate 8.7 Second time tasting this one. This time I knew what to extract. And it tasted better this time. Wood and oak fills the nose with a hint of leather. Taste is great. Well integrated ABV. Taste of oak, barrel and dried fruit. Nice aftertaste. 04-04-2025 - Rate 8.5 Nice rum. Have a feeling that something is missing. Can’t quite put a name on it. Was expecting something more. 18-07-2026 - Rate 8.8
Review by abaker-rum
I love the nose on this rum. The most predominant notes are chocolate, caramel, and wood, but it is complimented by other notes of cherry, vanilla, baking spices, and a slight hint of butter. The palate is fruity, with caramel and mocha, that carries in a long finish that keeps you mouth watering and wanting more.
Review by Tim
Really hard to get your hands on this rum (at least until recently). The nose is really great, harmonious notes like chocolate, caramel, vanilla, wood, nuts, and fruit. Also very well-balanced on the palate, maybe even a bit too smooth! Chocolate and confection paired with coffee.
Review by Florent Apl
Tasted on the occasion of Whisky Live Warsaw 2025. On the nose, I get the same type of glue I have on young Clarendons. I also get caramel and meaty notes. Alcohol is pretty sharp. On a blind, on the palate I would have said it's a Barbados or St Lucia rum, I would have never guessed it's from Guyana. There's a good balance of dry and sweet notes, ester level is pretty tame, but the alcohol integration is not so great imo. I'm not convinced by what I have here, but I would gladly give a second chance to the DHE mark with the new PM/DHE rum from El Dorado.
Review by Rumpalumpa
The two El. Dorado DHE blends compared. The LBI is more in the classic Guyana style, which isn't bad at all. Primarily caramel, roasted aromas with young wood and some dried fruits, on the palate the caramel becomes creamy.
Review by Benoit Mahe
I was expecting a more Jamaican profile, but in the end I found a very good Demerara, absolutely typical.
Review by Joachim Guger
Great color! Nice Demerara profile. Focused on a lovely mocha chocolate note. Warm, bold, nicely balanced, and very easy-drinking. Slightly fruity on the palate. Great tropical-aged Demerara that doesn’t fall far behind the big names from the Rare Collection. Definitely great with a cigar!
Review by FischeJ
Caramel popcorn with chocolate. Very slight hints of fruit. Very pleasant. Alcohol is noticeable though.
Review by Gil Firth
Bottle Guyana with high ester run? Delight. Chocolate. Leather. Caramel. Honey. Slightly burnt. Salt. A bit lacquer. Very good bottle for me and surprising.
Review by Joël
Heavy sweetness, no wonder with the smell and taste notes of sweet stuff throughout. Ester, yes. But high ester?
Review by Henry Davies
Outside of the Rare Selection rums this is by far the best and most interesting El Dorardo rum I have tried. The nose is great, vanilla, some fruit, and caramel. Mouth is chocolate and vanilla with some complexity. It’s not a Skeldon but a decent rum. Finish is long and enjoyable, approachable with some salt and demera and cappuccino. Enjoyed it a lot. The high ester is misleading in the context of Jamaican rums
Review by rbfsnow
Very good "Diamond 😆VRW 2006" in my opinion. Isnt a high ester, but a low ester with a VRW 2006 feeling & Diamond 1998 taste hybrid. Unfortunately the release was only in the UK and USA available.
Review by David Sharman
A modern classic
Review by Stan Hardy
Pretty tasty! It strongly reminds me of a high-quality Foursquare. That's both a strength and a weakness. The competition is too tough. You can get a Foursquare Equidem and Convication 30-40% cheaper with a slightly better taste. For a value-for-money hunter, it's currently not an option, even though it tastes great.
Review by ManuelP
Surprisingly low ester as I’ve come to understand it. But fat and multi-faceted caramel and chocolate. Still wow
Review by Nik the spirit-ed
The nose is dominated by caramel, coffee, and chocolate. Over time, a slightly salty note joins in. The taste is surprising at first because we know El Dorados where the alcohol is much more skillfully integrated. There's also a slightly chemical note that is a bit off-putting. However, the dark chocolate immediately becomes dominant. A dark caramel note soon emerges as well. After a while, a light fruit note can be perceived in the background. But these are more candied fruits than ripe, tropical fruits. In winter, there are often light cakes with candied fruits. This flavor reminds me of that. The finish is mainly salty, like you know from some beloved single malts. The term High Ester is a bit misleading here. Primarily, this rum is an El Dorado and identifiable as such even in a blind tasting. However, the price is very confident for that.
Review by Richard Colwell
On the nose, deep and relatively dark, leaning into dried fruits. Once given time to breath, more ester-y notes, including mild banana started to come through. The palate is similar, with deep caramel notes underneath bold red fruits. After opening up, more ester was present on the palate as well. As others have said, not as punchy as one might expect for ‘high ester,’ but a very flavorful, hot rum with a lot to dig into.
Review by Rumeumel
It's all a matter of personal taste. Here you have a smooth, soft chocolate enjoyment rum. Alcohol is perfectly integrated. No sharp edges. Such a little ass-kisser. If you like warm, chocolatey sipping rums, this one serves you well. Personally, I prefer it over its green counterpart, which is also very good but fruitier.
Review by Brezeljosef
The ultimate ester bomb, accompanied by leather, dried fruits, and a playful mix of caramel and toffee.
Review by Pavel Ungr, RumRock
Vintage 2012. I rate it 8.8 out of 10, an excellent rum that ranks high even among my more than 1,300 reviews.
Review by TriniJon
Very impressive
Review by Casper Jensen
Mild aroma and the 57% is not noticeable. The many esters give a good full-bodied and slightly sweet flavor.
Review by havy09
Delicious, 2nd favorite rum behind Foursquare ECS imo
Review by Dominic Lutz
Nose: Fruity and a bit livelier than the PM, with more spice and a somewhat more pronounced ester note. Plus wood and a slight smoky impression. Palate: Noticeably more intense and spicier than the PM. Wood, slight residual sweetness, dark fruit, some caramel and vanilla combine with a subtle, funky ester note. The alcohol at 57% is predictably more present but still well integrated. The wood seems to me not quite as harmoniously dosed as in the PM. Finish: Long, warm, and dry, with spice, wood, dark fruit, some caramel, and a light smoky note. Conclusion: The more intense and stronger of the two high-ester blends, with more fruit, spice, and length. For me, though, a bit less perfectly balanced than the PM. With the harmony of the PM, it would clearly be in an even higher league.
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 8.8/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by New World Rum Club
Enjoyed this ED, not as high ester as I was hoping but an enjoyable drop. A lot more in this rum from the standard 12,15,21 - meaty, salty and peppery flavours coming through. Let it breath and have a few glasses to really unlock the potential.
Expert review by The Rum Champion
Think El Dorado But a brighter expression of it. Amazing amazing, amazing stuff
DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend LBI/DHE 2012 at live auctions
A bid is not a final price: the house sets the buyer's premium, shipping and any customs duty.
All live auctions ›Community shelf
83 bottles logged by 72 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
27% opened, 4 emptied.
What does DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend LBI/DHE 2012 cost?
Community paid 79–154 €.
Current best price: 152.90 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 149 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
+6 additions in the last 3 months.
Additions per month over the last 12 months; dark bars: the last 3.
83 purchased · 91 tasted · 96 wishlist · as of
Details about DDL El Dorado High Ester Blend LBI/DHE 2012
A Pot Still Rum from Guyana, distilled by Demerara Distillers Ltd, at 57%.
Which of the wooden stills is behind this rum? The RumX guide ›
Read on in the RumX Guide
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