El Dorado

Origin : With Guyana's sugar production starting in 1658, it didn't take long for some of the sugar factories to start producing rum. By 1670, every sugar factory in Guyana had some form of rum still attached to it. When Admiral Vernon introduced the rum ration for the British Navy, in 1750, the composition of this rum was 82% Demerara rum and 18% other Caribbean rums.

Over time a number of the earlier sugar estates and factories started to either close or consolidate with each other. By 1849, the number of sugar estates was down to 180 and by the turn of the 20th century, there were only 64 left. In 1970 this number had been reduced even further, with only 11 sugar factories and 4 distilleries left in Guyana. The 4 remaining distilleries were consolidated into the larger Demerara Distillers Limited, that we see today.

Critically renowned for the El Dorado brand, Demerara Distillers Limited produces over 26 million litres of pure alcohol annually using a combination of modern and age-old industry methods, distilling their rums with continuous stills, wooden Coffey stills and wooden pot stills. It is worth noting that all three of Demerara Distillers wooden stills are at least 200 years old and are the only ones of their kind left in existence. It is because of this heritage that the El Dorado range of rums is so distinctive.