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
- But: Tastes sweetened
View price history
10 more payment methodsSecure payment Sold by Urban Drinks Returns & cancellation
- Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
- Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
- Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
- Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
Buy DDL El Dorado 12:
Compare all 6 shop offers
Prices & availability last updated on
The look inside the bottle
How does DDL El Dorado 12 taste?
Aggregated from 527 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.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
127 of 527 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
Your next rum
One difference each to this rum.
Rated better
DDL El Dorado 12 (2020 Release)
7.7/1032 €
More intense
DDL El Dorado 15 (2020 Release)
8.0/1044 €
Similar rating, cheaper
West Indies Plantation Barbados 5 Years
7.1/1023 €First choice: 17 of 28 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is DDL El Dorado 12 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.3 sits in the “Good” band. 59% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 3% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
73% rate it between 6 and 8. 15 selected write-ups from 527 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
One of the community's most-rated rums
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 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 crazyforgoodbooze
Most helpful critical review
solid mediocrity. but much too sweet and syrupy, strangely bitter at the end
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 Mirko Frosini 🇮🇪
Significantly lower than the 15-year-old.
Review by Luuzi
Beautiful rum. Makes the beginner want more.
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 BTHHo 🥃
Very sweet, soft and round, but with good depth and weight. Notes of brown sugar, toffee, vanilla and caramel.
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 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 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 FabiDram
Verkostung 22.12.2023
Review by Marcus Ekornes
I've tasted the newer unsweetened El Dorado 12, and I absolutely love it.
Review by Vincent D
Pas grand chose à dire de ce rhum trop sucré. Caramel et vanille. Peut-être un léger boisé en bouche mais alors franchement discret.. Un profil sans grand intérêt à mon sens. Aucun relief, trop lisse. Bof
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 :-)
No reviews match this filter.
Expert reviews
5 critics scored it, averaging 6.8/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
Read full review →
Expert review by RUMprobiert
Read full review →
Expert review by Rhummer
Read full review →
Expert review by RumRock
Read full review →
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
Read full review →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 24 € – 35 €
from 20 sales, latest 07/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 33 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about DDL El Dorado 12
A spirit drink on a rum base from Guyana, distilled by Demerara Distillers Ltd, at 40%.
Old Fashioned with Rum
Recipe, history, and four builds from a bar professional: why the ur-cocktail gets bigger with rum, with a video to mix along.
Read more →Which of the wooden stills is behind this rum? The RumX guide →
Community purchases
1,351 bottles logged by 1,231 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
38% opened, 226 emptied and repurchased.
What does DDL El Dorado 12 cost?
Community paid 25–47 €.
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+ →
+52 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
1,351 purchased · 577 tasted · 444 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Foursquare Doorly's 12 Years
Foursquare Doorly's 12 YearsSmooth, oaky Barbados daily sipper
Chairman's Reserve The Forgotten Casks
Chairman's Reserve The Forgotten CasksWarm, easy oak-and-vanilla sipper, slightly thin
DDL El Dorado 15
DDL El Dorado 15Sweet, caramel-rich Demerara starter sipper
DDL El Dorado 8
DDL El Dorado 8Sweet Demerara mixer, simple sipped neat
Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 Años
Matusalem Gran Reserva 15 AñosLight vanilla-caramel everyday sipper, simple
Never miss a price drop.
Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.
Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
What began as my digital tasting diary is now the world's most comprehensive platform for rum fans, today carried by a small team with Jakob, Lukas and Katharina, with Robert supporting us as a freelancer. We combine the collective intelligence of our community with an integrated marketplace, so you can choose with confidence, without paperwork, detours, or expert jargon.
Oliver, Stuttgart
About RumX →YouTube channel (in German)
