Review: El Dorado (Golden Rum) Cream Liqueur  85/100
Review by Chip Dykstra (Aka The Rum Howler)
Published October 19, 2014

Demerara County (in Guyana) is popular across the world for its rich, three hundred year history of rum production. Using a combination of old wooden stills in conjunction with modern stills and distilling techniques, Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL), has built a reputation for outstanding quality and consistent production. In fact, Demerara Distillers is the currently the largest supplier of bulk Caribbean Rum to Europe and North America.

One of the specialty products produced by Demerara Distillers is El Dorado (Golden Rum) Cream Liqueur which the El Dorado website describes as:

“A rich Cream Liqueur made with 5 Year Old Demerara Golden Rum.”

The spirit is of course a creamy liqueur which melds authentic El Dorado Rum with real dairy cream and natural flavours and spices. It is bottled at 15 % alcohol by volume, and occupies the same market niche as Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Kahlua.

Note: The sample bottle I received for the Canadian market is labelled slightly differently than shown below. There is no reference on the Canadian bottle to 5 Year Old Rum at the top of the label, and the name of the liqueur in Canada is Eldorado Golden Rum Cream Liqueur. It is reasonable to assume the product inside the bottle is the same for all markets, but the removal of the reference to 5 Year Old Rum upon the label in Canada implies to me that although the cream liqueur is indeed made with 5 Year Old rum as the website states, there may also be younger rum within the spirit as well.

In the Bottle 4/5

The cream liqueur is packaged in the attractively labeled bottle shown to the left. The style of the bottle and label are similar to other products in the creme liqueur category. The long neck makes the bottle easy to grab and also allows easy pouring without spilling.

In the Glass 8.5/10

When poured, the Rum Cream is very light brown in colour with a consistency which sits between milk and cream. Scents of butterscotch tinged with spice (cinnamon and nutmeg) greet the nose with obvious rum-like overtones. I also catch hints of coffee and milk chocolate in the breezes with bits of vanilla as well. Rounding out the aroma is a light touch of citrus tartness. The nose implies a pleasant diversion.

In the Glass 51/60

The spirit is lightly thickened as a good creme liqueur should be, and as the liqueur crosses my palate, I am pleased by the strength of the rum flavour which sits in front of rather than behind the more subtle flavours of milk chocolate and coffee. The robust flavour of El Dorado’s 5 Year Old Rum is definitely on display within the creme liqueur. There is a light, but firm spiciness (vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg) which compliment the rum-like flavour and the light creamy texture along with the background flavours of coffee and chocolate are very good in a complimentary role. There is also a light hint of sour tartness which adds another positive layer to the taste experience.

In the Throat 13/15

Swallowing the El Dorado Cream is a delight, as after the cream is swallowed, the palate is left with little pools of rum and spice which linger for a few moments before slowly ebbing away. When the spice has all but disappeared, another delight is in store as flavours of milk chocolate and coffee have been left in their place.

The Afterburn 8.5/10

I am very enthusiastic with respect to the El Dorado Cream Liqueur. I have found it to be a delightful indulgence.The strong rum flavour within the liqueur compliments vanilla ice cream particularly well, and it is a very nice enhancement for my morning coffee as well.

Yumm!

You may read some of my other Cream Liqueur Reviews (click the link) if you wish to have some comparative reviews of some of the other Creme Liqueurs I have reviewed.

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Each of my reviews contains a rating or score out of 100, and these scores can be interpreted using the following scale:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing spirit.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)