XM are the signature rums for Guyanese master blenders Banks DIH (Demerara Ice House). Despite hailing from Guyana the rum’s are not Demerara rums. With only one distillery in Guyana (Demerara Distillers Limited) it is easy to think that Banks DIH obtain their rum’s ready for blending from there. However, research has found that they no longer obtain any rums from DDL and consequently the rum cannot be classed as Demerara rum.
Tag Archives: Guyanese Rum
El Dorado 12 Year Old
For some reason I find myself wandering towards my rum cabinet saying “Elll Doooraaado” in a terrible Scottish accent. This is no reflection on El Dorado Rums, which are excellent. It is due to a longstanding advertisement campaign, by the BBC to promote a very shortstanding soap opera set in sunny Spain called Eldorado.
Yet another Demerara rum with a very British twist to it. Along with brands such as Lambs, OVD and Skipper us Brit’s certainly do seem to enjoy importing dark Guyanese rums and bottling them up for public consumption.
The rum comes in normal bar style bottle with a label which is old fashioned and in similar ilk to that of Skipper. The makers of these rum’s certainly don’t seem to be going for the younger sexy end of the market.
“The best rum in this world” proclaims the 30′s style label. Finest Old Demerara from Guyana. This is a blend of 7 dark rums aged in Guyana for at least 3 years. According to the bottle this is a naval style rum. This rum (and seemingly the bottle) has been produced since 1930.
I bought this rum on a trip to Sainsburys. It had couple of quid off so was £18 rather than £20. To be honest the bottle is a little uninspiring, which is why I had previously overlooked it. It’s a standard entry-level metallic screw top bar bottle. The labelling is a little kitsch but I don’t really think it will be doing its sales much good.
At the time of buying this I hadn’t tried much in the way of Demerara Rum other than the supermarket “Navy” style rum’s. So I thought I would give this a try. It was very highly regarded on The Whisky Exchange (I get a lot of rum online due to the lack of variety and specialist shops up here in the North East).
Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof Rum (it has recently been re-branded in the UK) is as near to the rum issued to sailors in the British Navy as you will get. The “tot” was abolished in 1970. Black Tot Day as it was called being 31 July 1970.
The rum is steeped in tradition and the website is very “naval” as is the packaging. It’s very distinctive and slightly (IMO) gaudy. However you do get a nice corked closure, which I always prefer. You don’t get any fancy cardboard packaging with this rum just the bottle. The rum hasn’t hit the supermarkets over here as yet. This surprises me somewhat but it has found its way into most independent retailers. The rum retails at around the £30 mark. This seems a little expensive for a Navy Rum but it is 54.5% abv so it should last a bit longer.