Ron Zacapa Sistema Solera 23 Rum 750ml

Ron Zacapa was created in 1976 by Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala to mark the hundredth anniversary of the founding of Zacapa, a town in the country's eastern highlands. Rum Creation and Products, the subsidiary behind the brand, built its reputation on a production philosophy rooted in altitude and patience, and the label is now distributed internationally by Diageo. Ron Zacapa has become one of the most decorated rums in the category and is widely credited with putting Guatemala on the map as a serious rum producing nation.

The 23 is distilled from virgin sugar cane honey, the first pressing of fresh cane juice, rather than the molasses used by most producers, fermented with a proprietary strain of pineapple derived yeast and run through a copper lined column still. Maturation happens far from the cane fields, at roughly 2,300 meters in the cool mountain air of Quetzaltenango, where the slower pace of aging is said to soften the spirit's edges. The rum passes through a solera system, blending rums aged between six and twenty three years across barrels that previously held American whiskey, oloroso sherry, and Pedro Ximénez wine.

The nose opens soft and sweet with caramel, vanilla, and butterscotch, moving into roasted nuts and dried fruit on the palate, with baking spice, oak, and a touch of tobacco carrying through to a warm, lingering finish.