Zaya Gran Reserva 12-Year

You can buy this in Florida for less than $30 a bottle.
Nose: very sweet oak aroma. Really impressive. It gives you the feeling you're about to drink a great vintage reserva rum.
Taste: unfortunately that feeling didn't materialize. It tasted like a simple sugary watery drink with molasses.
Finish: very short with no discerning flavors.

Too sweet and this for my taste. I had it to sip at a celebration but was not impressed.

I heard good things about this rum so I picked it up while on vacation in maine...I had to drive 40 miles to find a liquor store that had rum other than Bacardi Silver. Even then, I couldnt get past this taste of the topical gel the dentist puts on your gum before giving you a shot. But then I had a root canal a few weeks later and realized that topical actually tastes better. The sad part is that I could tell it was a nice tasting smooth rum under the blanket of that weird medicinal taste, but I couldnt get past it. Wont be buying again unless I'm forced to pick it or pick Bacardi Silver.

Bought a bottle of Zaya rum at BevMo only to find that it has changed:
No cork - now a scew top
No twine on neck - now a label
Rum has changed - now a so so rum - Not worth the price

Zaya used to be my go to rum - Now I'm no longer a customer!

Smooth sweet toffee aroma. The palate offers you sweet toffee and some vanilla. At this pricepoint i miss a bit of body though. It's very similar to the hafl priced punta cana esplendio. I actually find the punta cana better, because it posesses a slightly fuller body, missing in the Zaya

While advertised as a dark rum, this Is more of a liqueur with lots of added sugar and vanilla flavoring. It's liquid candy. That being said, there is a wonderful nose of vanilla, booze and a slight floral note. On the tongue, there is tons of maple, vanilla with underlying oak astringency. There is a fair amount of spice on the back of the palate.

I drank this straight up, no ice. Again, ultra smooth, like liquid candy. I wouldn't mix this, as I imagine it would be cloyingly sweet in coke or a cocktail.

Being only familiar with certain bourbons, this was an interesting introduction to rum. It was a nice dessert drink that went well with a slice of cake. I do suspect this isn't a rum for serious rum lovers, since rum is very dry (like bourbon) out of the cask. I'm definitely curious about trying dryer varieties.

P.S., I tasted the OLD Zaya, the one produced in Guatemala. Taster was from a small, 3-shot bottle.

EDIT: This review was updated for the NEW Zaya. Upon tasting the Zaya produced in Trinidad, I was sorely disappointed. I nearly thought I was drinking harsh vanilla extract. I let the glass breathe for 15 minutes. It needed a large ice cube to mellow it out; even then it was one-dimensional with the overpowering vanilla flavor crowding out other subtle flavors. The butteriness I got in the old Guatemalan version was absent, sadly.

This is a commonly seen rum in local bars, so I decided to give a bottle a shot. I ended up using this exclusively as a mixer, and not my favorite at that. There are other rums out there for the same price which are much tastier in either situation.

I appreciate primarily sipping rums but also enjoy good rums for mixed drinks. While on a recent visit to Total Wines in Atlanta I was recommended Zaya 12 by an associate. After trying it I am extremely disappointed. There is an overpowering and unpleasant artificial vanilla scent both on the nose and in the taste that makes the rum very unappealing. There is also a lot of heat from the alcohol. Also tried it in a rum tonic and did not enjoy the overpowering vanilla tones along with a good tonic water, lime and a drop of angostura. Overall a poorly confectioned rum and a very low QPR. Maybe I can use it for cooking.

Ratings are all over the board on this one. It really depends on your taste. Sweet cane nose. Very sweet flavor with hints of caramel and vanilla. Not terribly complex but not at all as bad as some of the ratings make it out to be. I think this is more of a middle of the road rum. Not world class but definitely not swill. Warming approaching hot. Slightly bitter finish but not unpleasent. A decent sipper if you really like it sweet and simple but it would be much better served with cocktails wanting a fuller bodied sweet rum.
Edit 9/25/19 - rating above is for old Guatemala rum. Recently tried the new Trinidad version. Not at all the same. Over sweet and artificial. No depth just sweet vanilla. Sadly this is giving rum the wrong reputation. I lower my rating for the new formula from a 6 to a 4. If you like real rum do not spend $30 on this.

While sippably smooth thanks to its high sugar content, it's basically a glorified vanilla extract. It desperately lacks the depth one would expect for a rum of this age (and price).