Demerara Distillers Ltd’s (DDL) El Dorado 15 Year Old rum has been recommended to consumers as the best from a wide group of countries which include Cuba and Australia by the reputable consumer magazine Which.

Guyana’s El Dorado 12 Year Old took second place while Barbados Mount Gay Extra Old took third place.

Nineteen brands recommended by outlets were tasted by a panel of seven professional spirit tasters.

According to the September 2003 issue of the magazine “the tasting was a resounding success for Demerara Distillers of Guyana (DDL) whose two entrants placed first and second. All panelists praised El Dorado Special Finest Demerara 15 years for its complexity, one taster admiring its mellow, brooding richness, lots of dark flavours and spice.”

The magazine also noted that “El Dorado finest Demerara 12 years was described as having a gorgeous aroma honeyed with orange and great balance.”

Meanwhile a release from DDL notes that the winning blends are all produced by Coffey Stills and Wooden Pot Stills, which are the only such wooden stills of their kind in use in the world today, and which produce a unique blend.

Although the El Dorado rums were only launched on the international market in 1993, the release says that El Dorado 15 Year Old has won the `Best Rum Worldwide’ title for six consecutive years (1998-2003) at the International Wine and Spirit Competition held annually in London. The 21 Year Old also won the Silver Medal at the 2003 competition, while the Five Year Old won a Gold Medal.

Meanwhile the 12 Year Old was adjudged the `Best Spirit of the Caribbean’ for seven out of last ten years; it won the Gold Medal at the 2002 Chicago Rum Tasting Institute’s Competition and the Platinum Award in the 2003 Rum Festival recently held in Newfoundland.

The release said that the decision to develop an exclusive range of aged, bottled rums and other alcoholic products was taken in anticipation of future policy changes regarding accessibility to the European Union bulk rum market.