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El Dorado: cask strength could ‘redefine’ rum sector
As premiumisation gains a foothold in rum, the master distiller of Guyana-based El Dorado believes cask-strength rums have the “potential to redefine the category”.
Speaking to The Spirits Business, Shaun Caleb, master distiller at Demerara Distillers (producer of the premium rum brand), said the premium rum trend presents a “significant opportunity for El Dorado to strengthen its market position and continue to grow its brand as a key player in the global rum industry”.
“As premium rums gain popularity worldwide, El Dorado will have the opportunity to continue to expand its global footprint,” he continued.
Caleb draws from three original wooden ‘heritage’ stills (Port Mourant, Versailles, and Enmore) from old Guyanese distilleries, as well as copper coffey and Savalle stills to craft El Dorado, and together with the country’s tropical climate and high humidity, it makes for a ‘distinct’ rum that he believes ties into the current desire around unique and exclusive products.
While the brand’s core range comprises 12-, 15- and-21-year old rums, Caleb is also turning his attention to more intensely-flavoured cask strength releases.
Earlier this year, the brand’s first high-ester rum launched in the UK and sold out – priced at £120 (US$158). Another batch is now on its way and Caleb and the team are figuring out how to get more to the market given its success. Released at cask strength and the first in a nine-product series, the expression was said to be created in response to an increase in consumer demand for diverse rums.
Made at El Dorado’s Diamond Distillery – the only distillery in Guyana – the rum is a blend of the brand’s Diamond High Ester (where fermentation took place over several months) and its honeyed, medium-bodied rum produced in the style of the La Bonne Intention (LBI) Estate.
The distillery has been producing high-ester rum since the 1950s, but it is typically blended with other distillates in order to increase the ester content. This release, Caleb says, is a “deliberate choice” to showcase complex and intense flavour profiles. It has a ‘rich and fruity’ profile without the ‘funky tail’ that high-ester rums tend to have.
He added: “Premiumisation will also force us to experiment with new blends, different barrel finishes, and limited edition releases to cater to the evolving tastes of premium rum consumers.”
Emergence of cask strength
Though still a relatively niche market, Caleb sees cask-strength expressions as ones to watch, as they present an “opportunity to differentiate and capture the attention of consumers looking for something unique and exclusive”.
He asserts: “As consumers’ palates become more sophisticated, there’s an increasing demand for bold and intense flavours. Cask-strength rums have the potential to redefine the rum category and attract a broader audience of rum enthusiasts seeking such an experience.”
Due to availability of stock, El Dorado has had to limit the production of its Cask Strength Enmore to around 1,000 cases globally. It is also not available in the UK. For this reason, Caleb notes that it’s “difficult to really gauge what the true demand could be” without the restriction.
Having said that, he does maintain: “We’ve seen interest in these sorts of offerings rise substantially over the last few years – from the time we did our first release until now. As a matter of fact, after we first launched, or relaunched I should say, people were clamouring for our single still rums and asked ‘why not release this at cask strength?
“It would be a lot more interesting to see the Enmore if it were to be released just out of the barrels. And that’s what we did. So I would say interest has gone up, but perhaps supply has not quite been able to meet what the potential demand could be.”
El Dorado Cask Strength Enmore is bottled at 54.3% ABV and the intensity of flavours is a lot richer. Of the appeal, Caleb says: “A well-aged rum has certainly developed the body and presents those flavours in a very balanced, grounded way, without any sort of burn or bite. So you can obviously then enjoy the flavours in a much more enhanced manner, but without putting any sort of burn to it and so on.
“The rum then digs deeper and explores even more flavours when it’s at a higher concentration. That is what they [the consumer] want.”
In addition, through their traditional ageing and production methods, cask-strength rums also align with the trend toward craft and artisanal spirits, Caleb observes.
“These rums retain all the flavours developed during ageing, undiluted, resulting in the full extent of the rum’s richer, deeper, complex and robust taste profile. As such, the concentrated flavour profiles meet this discerning demand and offer a new dimension to the rum-tasting experience.”
Target markets
Of the brand’s global aspirations, Caleb states El Dorado tries to balance each market and set “very aggressive goals”.
“The UK is a very important market for us. Positioned along with the US, Canada, the rest of Europe, and the Caribbean and China markets – those are our six main pillars of growth. Even while we seek ways of expanding into territories where El Dorado is not as big, mainly in Asia and Africa, and parts of South and Central America, the aspiration is to be a global brand.
“We have been putting down new warehouses in fulfilment of those aspirations. And therefore, we have to aggressively go after every market.”
Summing up the state of the premium market, he adds: “Even while rum and even vodkas, have seen challenging times – particularly in Europe and in the UK with inflation, the war in Ukraine, shipping and logistics, and in fact, production prices – all of those factors have had a negative effect on the supply chain, but premium rums have really not ever declined.
“There is still that segment, of which the interest is alive, and because we continue to innovate, then the interest is obviously well-fed and well-maintained.”
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