At first I found this spirit to be too sweet- almost candilike -for my palate, but as I experienced more rum I’ve found a new appreciation for it. The nose is very vanilla forward, perhaps with a peppering of almond, it has a ripe sweetness which is very welcoming. The aroma is medium pleasant- it hits you when your nose is in the glass but it doesn’t linger on your nose for too long. The taste matches the scent- strongly vanilla, twinge of almond, some slight caramel- it is extraordinarily sweet. I am certain that someone who likes sweet spirits would appreciate it more than I did at first taste. My hope is to convince people who don’t - like myself - that this is something worth trying. This rum is a blend of older and newer rum, each of which have their distinctive qualities that they impart to this particular bottle in quite a magical fashion. The young imparts a funky pungent sourness while the older brings in more smoky notes. Together you get something that tastes young, but refined or something that is mellow, but vibrant. It’s a bottle that has something that young rum enjoyers and aged rum enjoyers will both appreciate- with time.
About this bottle
Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum was first produced in 1976 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Guatemalan town of Zacapa. It's a rum made from raw sugarcane honey grown on the Zacapa estate high in the hills of Guatemala, extracted from the first pressing of sugarcane juice. It is then fermented using a proprietary strain of pineapple yeast and distilled in a copper-lined column still. After distillation, the rum is aged in a Solera process from a series of casks which once held bourbon, oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximenez sherry. The rums in the blend vary between 6 and 23 years of age.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 50 parsed reviews.
Open 2.5 years Nose - Vanilla, musty orange, ripe melons, molasses, and medium ethanol. Palate - Brown sugar, toasted marshmallow, dark chocolate, overipe bananas, and melons. Finish is short with chocolate bitters, dark honey, fried bananas, and light ethanol. I got this a while ago, and it just sits on my shelf. After discovering more unique and bold cask strength rums from independent bottlers, weak stuff like this is not appealing. It's fine, drinks light and easy, but I probably will give away the rest of the bottle.
An intense, cane liqueur from Guatemala, blended using the solera system; matured in a mix of bourbon & sherry casks. It a very sweet & nutty birth with notes of honey, chocolate. dark brown sugar, fruit, gentle smoke & pipe tobacco; while a very rich & delicate life adds notes of dried fruits, licorice, oak, dark brown sugar & molasses; that led to a long & thick death with hints of vanilla, coffee, honey & smoke. June / October / November 2017 / May 2018 / February 2019 / August 2020
This is my first rum review. I’m branching out from whiskey. Nose: brown sugar, pineapple, artificial cherry, raisin, sherry (is this sherry finished?) Palate: licorice and tobacco at first, then raisin, coconut, pineapple, peach, cherry Finish: very mild; licorice, raisin, hint of cinnamon, and what seems like the syrup from a dole pineapple cup This seems like a good start to rum exploration. It’s a decent sipping rum. I don’t see myself reaching for this often though.
Loads of vanilla with some caramel and sweet cinnamon. Very balanced, though quite sweet and not overly complex. No overpowering alcohol burn. Lingering finish of apricot with an occasional glimpse of funk. Very pleasant sipper. I must say their branding is completely on point. Beautifully decorated box inside (with colorful rainforest illustrations) and out, and the traditional petate braided by Mayan women is a clever touch.
Sweet and rich, it has brown sugar of course, but also a hint of dates, some tropical fruit top notes, and a base of light tobacco smoke plus suede. Quite sweet on the tongue with warming spice and some candied pineapple. Full bodied and syrupy. Heavy legs form slowly with small, neat tears following. The finish is short but rich, slightly woody, with an almost grassy note. Nose: 9 Taste: 8 Body: 9 Finish: 8
44 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
