20 Oct El Dorado Rum – the tradition of distilling in Guyana
Guyana has a long and rich history in sugar and rum production.
Around the year 1640, sugar cane was introduced to the country by European settlers.
After this, it was not long before the first rum was produced.
At its peak, Guyana had more than 300 (!) working rum distilleries.
Today, only one remains: that of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL).
Demerara Rum
The word “Demerara” is adored by many people worldwide, and for good reason.
The sugar and rum from Guyana are rich in flavor and unique in their kind.
Demerara rum, unlike Demerara sugar, has a protected geographical indication.
So anytime the word “Demerara” appears on a bottle of liquor, you know exactly who distilled it.
But what is so special about Guyana sugar and rum?
Shaun Caleb, master distiller at DDL, explains: “There are certain environmental influences that control the whole process. In Guyana it is hot, there is high humidity. The water has a high salt content, the soil contains many minerals and has a high organic content, in the air and in the soil there is a huge diversity of microbiological species, including native wild yeast species. All these factors are present in both the sugar cane, the molasses and the fermentation process.”
300 years of Caribbean rum production
The best-known product coming from DDL is El Dorado Rum.
This smooth and complex rum represents more than 300 years of Caribbean rum production.
Good-humored Shaun Caleb has been the master distiller at DDL since 2012.
At the time, he had the difficult task of succeeding the legendary George L. Robinson, who worked for the company for no less than 40 years.
Shaun Caleb remembers his teacher not only for his immense wealth of knowledge about Demerara rum, but more importantly for his great personality and attention to the person behind the work. Shaun Caleb: “We were working with the Savalle Still (a historic French four-column distiller), when George taught me the following: always respect the people operating the still, even if sometimes a mistake must be corrected.
After all, at the end of the day, this person goes home, where his family is waiting for him expectantly.
Nothing that happens during the working day should change that.”
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Blended in the Barrel
There are a number of unique historic stills in operation at DDL’s distillery.
These all come from various sugar plantations in Guyana and are among the oldest in the world.
Each boiler is the only one of its kind still used for rum production today, and three boilers are made entirely of wood.
Shaun: “Although the kettles give low yields from a quantitative perspective, the profile of the rum they produce is so robust and unique that it is all worth it in the end.”
With these historic boilers, DDL is one of the few rum producers with the distinctive ability to create unique rums and provide them with different rum marques (types).
After the distillation process, the rum is blended by Shaun Caleb into a beautiful final result.
This is done in the traditional way, where the rum first ages in the barrel, and only after this is blended: ‘blending after aging’.
In contrast to this traditional way, the range ‘Blended in the Barrel’ gives a unique opportunity to experience a non-traditional way of blending.
The individual marques are blended immediately after distillation and then aged as a blend. 
Shaun’s favorites
El Dorado Rum has a very nice – and wide – core range.
From the El Dorado 3YO, to the El Dorado 21Y0: all are special expressions with their own unique qualities.
In Guyana itself, the El Dorado 5YO is very popular.
This is mixed with coconut water, Ginger Ale, cola, cranberry juice or just a splash of water and ice, for example.
For Shaun Caleb, his favorite depends on his mood, the occasion and the people: “If I’m having cocktails at a bar or restaurant, my favorite is a Rum Old Fashioned with El Dorado 12YO or a Daiquiri with the El Dorado 3YO. If I’m with friends, I keep it simple and prefer to drink an El Dorado 5YO with coconut water or, depending on which friends, I’ll have El Dorado 12YO with some ice. And to end the evening: a double El Dorado 15YO!” 
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