Old Fashioned Rum Demerara
Demerara rum, demerara syrup and bitters, stirred over a big rock with an orange peel. The Old Fashioned on Guyana's dark, smoky rum — caramel, wood and spice, and the best rum Old Fashioned there is.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Add the demerara syrup and bitters to a rocks glass.
Add the rum and a large ice cube.
Stir for 20 seconds until cold and lightly diluted.
Express an orange peel over the drink and drop it in.
A thoughtful finish
- A teaspoon of syrup; aged Demerara rum is sweet already.
- A dash of orange bitters alongside the Angostura suits it.
- A big single cube; small ice waters it down.
Common mistakes
- Too much sugar.
- A spiced rum.
- Muddled fruit, which fights the rum.
A few good questions.
What does a Demerara Rum Old Fashioned taste like?
Dark caramel, burnt sugar, wood and spice, with orange oil — rich and slow.
What is Demerara rum?
Rum from Guyana, distilled on the Demerara River — dark, smoky and heavy; El Dorado is the main brand.
Which bottle?
El Dorado 12 for a sweet, rich drink; Hamilton 86 for a drier, smokier one.
Can I use another aged rum?
Yes; a Jamaican gives funk, a Barbados rum a cleaner drink.
Variations
- Old Fashioned — Whiskey, sugar and bitters.
- Bumbo — Dark rum, sugar, water and nutmeg.
- Corn 'n' Oil — Blackstrap rum, falernum, lime and bitters.
- Ti' Punch — Rhum agricole, lime and cane syrup.
Where it comes from
c. 2000s · United States
The rum Old Fashioned is as old as the Old Fashioned — the 1806 ‘cocktail’ was any spirit with sugar, water and bitters — and the Demerara version became a craft-bar standard in the 2000s when El Dorado’s aged rums reached American shelves. Demerara rum, from the Demerara River in Guyana and the last wooden stills in the world, has a dark, smoky, burnt-sugar character that the Old Fashioned’s build shows off better than any cocktail: a teaspoon of demerara syrup to match the rum’s own sugar, Angostura for spice, an orange peel for lift. A 12- or 15-year El Dorado is the usual bottle; a Hamilton 86 Demerara is drier and smokier. It is a slow, rich drink for the end of an evening.
Sources
- Robert Simonson, The Old-Fashioned, 2014 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Demerara Rum Old Fashioned, 2012 (reference)
- Punch, Rum Old Fashioned, 2016 (reference)
Strength. About 1.48 US standard drinks at an estimated 33.2% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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