DDL El Dorado 12
A newcomer-friendly, dessert-leaning Demerara sipper with loads of caramel, vanilla and sweet oak. RumX members find it very smooth, easy to share, and good value for casual sipping or sweet cocktails.
- Very approachable
- Caramel-vanilla sweetness
- Good value
Compare all 6 shop offers from 31.33 €
Details about DDL El Dorado 12
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How does DDL El Dorado 12 taste?
Aggregated from 486 community reviews.
Sweet, smooth Demerara starter A newcomer-friendly, dessert-leaning Demerara sipper with loads of caramel, vanilla and sweet oak. RumX members find it very smooth, easy to share, and good value for casual sipping or sweet cocktails.
Those who enjoy sweet, smooth rums and want an easy first Demerara for sipping neat or in simple cocktails without any funk or aggression.
Anyone avoiding added sugar, seeking dry, complex or high-strength rums, or looking for classic, unsweetened wooden-pot Demerara character.
How is DDL El Dorado 12 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict — 7.3 lands squarely in the "Good" band. 60% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 3% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Mitchell Kennedy
The smell is a little bit hot and starts off with a strongish 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. The finish is medium and tastes lightly of dried fruit.
Review by LukaŽiga
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..
Review by Stefan Persson
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 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.
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 Rum Diaries Blog
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Community purchases
1,352 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 413 members.
About the Demerara Distillers Ltd distillery
The Demerara Distillers Ltd distillery is located in Guyana. Rums from Demerara Distillers Ltd have been reviewed 3,354 times with an average of 7.8/10.
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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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