El Dorado 21 Year Old Special Reserve Demerara Rum

El Dorado's Special Reserve is a Demerara-style rum, aged twelve years in ex-bourbon casks and bottled in Panama at 90 proof (45% ABV). It is made without additives, so what you taste is the spirit and the wood, nothing added afterward.

Caramel and vanilla lead, thick and easy, with dried fruit sitting underneath and giving the rum some weight. Toasted coconut turns up next, a little sweet and a little dry at the same time. Oak and baking spice run through the finish and keep the sweetness from going soft, which is what makes this one work as well over ice as it does neat.

This is a straightforward, well-made sipping rum rather than a special-occasion bottle, and it holds up in a daiquiri or an old fashioned if that is where you want to take it. The 750 mL bottle is the standard pour size for a home bar.