El Dorado, Special Reserve 15yr., Guyana, 750ml

El Dorado Rum is made by Demerara Distillers Limited in Guyana, South America and is perhaps the single greatest rum producer on the planet. Having operated since the 1600s, and supplied the British Royal Navy with rum for more than 200 years, the Diamond Estate Distillery still churns out a variety of spirits today. DDL’s historic stills, built in the 18th and 19th centuries and still in operation and produce a number of amazing flavors along with more than seven additional stills that create more traditional ones. The 15 year old draws its core flavor from the use of the distillery’s historic wooded pot stills — the Port Mourant double still and the Versailles single pot build in the 1700s. The old wooden pots capture more of the earthy, funky molasses flavor and add an intensity of authentic rum flavor unavailable in most modern expressions. Aged in refill American oak casks, the richness of flavor from the wood marries beautifully with the characteristic pot still heaviness to create one of the great rums available today. The El Dorado 15 is the standard by which many rum enthusiasts judge great rum to be.