El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum
El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum is the bridge expression of Guyana's great Demerara range — 750mL at 40% ABV (80 proof), laid down in ex-bourbon oak for a minimum of eight years at Demerara Distillers' Diamond Distillery — and you can order it online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 40% (80 proof) — current US bottling
- Size: 750mL
- Age: Minimum 8 years in ex-bourbon oak casks
- Stills: Blend of column and pot still rums from DDL's heritage collection — the French Savalle still, the Port Mourant double wooden pot still, the Enmore wooden Coffey still, and the double Coffey still
- Origin: Guyana — Demerara Distillers Limited, Diamond Distillery, on the east bank of the Demerara River
- Awards: Best Rum Trophy, International Wine & Spirit Competition (London); gold and double gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Eight Years of Wooden-Still Demerara
El Dorado 8 draws on what the importer calls "the smoky, mineralic profile that defines El Dorado's extra-aged Special Reserve bottlings" — rums distilled in some of the last operational wooden stills in the world, blended and rested a minimum of eight years in oak. It is the house's versatile middleweight: sipping depth with cocktail manners, drier than the entry age statements and rich enough for a proper Rum Old Fashioned. Shop the rum collection at Del Mesa Liquor, compare aged rums, or browse everything from El Dorado.
Tasting Notes
The nose opens with tobacco, clove and dried cherry, balanced fruit and confection, a faint flambéed banana and dried stone fruit. The palate is soft and silky — toffee, ginger, stewed red fruit, honeyed fruit cake, vanilla and orange marmalade over a molasses undertone. The finish is dry and spicy: clove, charred oak and butterscotch.
How to Enjoy
Neat or on the rocks to taste the wooden-still character, or mix it into a luxury Mojito or Rum Old Fashioned — the house's own serving suggestions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes El Dorado 8 different from other 8 year rums?
The stills: it is distilled at the last remaining distillery in Guyana on heritage stills including original wooden Coffey and wooden pot stills — some of the last working wooden stills on earth.
What is the alcohol content of El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum?
40% ABV (80 proof) in the current US bottling, in a 750mL bottle.
Where is El Dorado rum made?
By Demerara Distillers Limited at the Diamond Distillery in Guyana, on the Demerara River, under the Demerara Rum Geographical Indication.
Is El Dorado 8 good for cocktails?
Yes — it is built for both: sip it neat, pour it over ice, or mix it into a luxury Mojito or Rum Old Fashioned.
Heritage stills, eight years in oak — order El Dorado 8 Year Old Rum online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.