I'm new....wanna fight?

[AlanG]

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to introduce myself :)
I'm a Canadian currently living in the Netherlands. I've been a whisky fan for quite a few years, but have fairly recently started to taste rums seriously.
Here's what I'd like to say;
El Dorado 12 is BETTER than the 15.
Any takers?
Thanks again..........
Alan.

[Edward Hamilton]

Welcome to the forums. I wouldn't say you're going to get a fight here, but you will get a lot of friendly discussion.
There are times I prefer El Dorado 12 over their 15, but not always, there's a time and place for everything here, except fighting.

[Don Piero]

Welcome Alan. Never had the 12yo. I've had the 15 and the 21yr old and prefer the 21 but do enjoy the 15 as well (currently open).

How are you drinking the 12yo - neat, with ice or in a cocktail.

[angelsword]

The ED 12 is certainly sweeter and that appeals to those with a sweet tooth. I vastly prefer the 15. If you comparison taste the two whichever one you taste first will frequently taste better when compared to the other because of the way our palates adjust to sweetness levels.

We had this problem last year at the MORum Tasting Competition while judging the flavored rums.

[Tiare]

I really would like to try the 12 and compare it to my all time fav the 15..but havenґt had the occasion yet, and same with the 21.

I`m a big fan of demerara rums.

Welcome to the forum!

[AlanG]

Hi everyone.
Sorry Edward, right you are, perhaps I should have chosen my words more carefully. Friendly discussion is what I'm after, not confrontation. Well maybe a little......
To quote Michael Jackson, "I'm a lover, not a fighter".
I read somewhere that one should have a "standard" by which other rums are judged. Before I start going on and on, I'd welcome views on what others would consider a standard. I'll offer Appleton 12, as I had it this past weekend. Found it....good. Not great, and certainly not as good as the reviews that I've read.
Again, I appreciate the warm welcome and look forward to posting thoughts and reviews.
I'm a whiskey guy and am fairly new to rum.
I have a lot to learn from all of you, and will do my best to keep my mouth shut and my ears open.
Thanks again those who posted.
Alan.

[AlanG]

Welcome Alan. Never had the 12yo. I've had the 15 and the 21yr old and prefer the 21 but do enjoy the 15 as well (currently open).

How are you drinking the 12yo - neat, with ice or in a cocktail.

Hi DP,
(And greetings to a fellow Canadian).
In answer to your question, I drink it straight, in a whiskey tasting glass with literally a teaspoon of water (for a pretty big drink).
Never on the rocks (I don't like cold drinks, never mind the dilution) and I wouldn't dream of it in a cocktail.
Alan.

[AlanG]

Thanks Tiare.
I've read some of your posts and they are excellent.
Are these products available in Sweden?
I ask as were not THAT far away, and rum is something that I wish was easier to find here in Holland.
Alan.

[frenchrumlover]

i ve tried the 12 and the 15 and i prefer the 15 .it s much sweeter to my own taste

[Lew Barrett]

I have a bottle each of 12, 15 and 21. For me, the 21 is the best sipper hands down. However, the 15 is a great rum for when I smoke, better than the 21 for several reasons. The leading reason for me is that once a rum crosses over to super premium, I usually enjoy it best as a solo act, and cigars can tend to blunt the subtleties in rum. The other is that it is sweeter than 21, a natural plus when smoking. I enjoy ED 12 too and frequently with a smoke, but I'd have sworn it was less sweet than 15, which I had believed to be the sweetest in the line. I'll need to face them off again, because I refuse to bring a knife to a sword fight!:D.

[Hank Koestner]

Welcome to the forums. Sometimes rum tasting sweeter has not as much to do with sugar content as much as it has to do with the cogeners and others flavors that make a rum "sweet". ED 12 for instance might taste sweeter to someone because the sweetness stands alone a little more, without as much behind it. ED 15 is a little richer, and has a little more depth, and some may see this as sweeter. I hope I made sense in what I am trying to explain, I am getting tired as the night wears on. I enjoy both rums, and I think the 12 is just slightly sweeter than the 15, but the 15 has more depth.

All rum drinkers are lovers....not fighters....:rolleyes:

[angelsword]

I enjoy ED 12 too and frequently with a smoke, but I'd have sworn it was less sweet than 15, which I had believed to be the sweetest in the line. I'll need to face them off again, because I refuse to bring a knife to a sword fight!:D.
I could be mistaken in my memory of the sweetness levels. It could be a few days until I am bach home and can taste them again.

[AlanG]

Great comments everyone, thank you.
I haven't had the 21 (it's not available here), but I've had the 12 many times and the 15 a few.
I should have mentioned at the beginning of this thread that I like the 15 very much. I find it dryish, perfumey, elegant, more "feminine" than the 12. Very stylish.
But the 12's I've had have been richer, deeper, sweeter (but not cloying), muskier.........sexier.

[RobertBurr]

ED 12 has been perceived as more honey-like to me than the 15. It's not as mature, complex or rich in nose. The 15 has a longer, warmer finish; the 12 less serious. The 21 tastes more luxurious -- in a word.

[Don Piero]

ED 12 has been perceived as more honey-like to me than the 15. It's not as mature, complex or rich in nose. The 15 has a longer, warmer finish; the 12 less serious. The 21 tastes more luxurious -- in a word.

Hi Alan, if its the honey you are liking/tasting, you should be drinking the 18yr old Highland Park. I too am a big whisky lover and discovered Rums in the fall of 2007. As you are a whisky drinker that is why, like myself, enjoy your spirits neat.

[AlanG]

Hi Alan, if its the honey you are liking/tasting, you should be drinking the 18yr old Highland Park. I too am a big whisky lover and discovered Rums in the fall of 2007. As you are a whisky drinker that is why, like myself, enjoy your spirits neat.

Thanks DP!
Well, the last time I had an HP 18 was......10 minutes ago! Nice call.
Don't want to get on a Single tangent here, but right you are, the HP 18 is superb. Honey in abundance, but there's a depth there too, with a wisp of smoke at the end.
I'll stop now.
I'd love to hear more recommendations on honey-like rums from anyone.
Alan.