Zaya Grande Reserva 16-Year

Excellent flavour, pairs very nice with cane cola. Smooth with subtle notes of Carmel and vanilla. Smooth finish as well. Reminds me a bit of the original smoothness of the first Zaya, before the distillery moved, but something else I can’t put my finger on yet...more testing required!

This is a very nice rum, good carmel toffee aromas. A go to for me now.

First, I'm fairly liberal. I figure I'm not the final word when it comes to judging what others will like. But the Zaya Grande Reserva 16 Year deserves to be called out. First, make sure it's the new green necked/labeled iteration that we are talking about and second, it's NOT A 16 YEAR OLD RUM! It is a solera rum. They are being quite cute by putting the "16 Years" in a much larger font than the tiny print of the warning, "A blend of Rums aged up to".

It seems that the move from Guatemala has resulted in a continued loss of positive character in this sad Rum.

Don't get me wrong. I agree, a solera rum can definitely be a good rum. But it's insulting to other correctly labeled rums to hide behind a tricky label.

That said, the Zaya Grande Reserva I tasted was sickly sweet and overpriced even for $26. But, if you are someone who mixes all the flavors at the Slurpee machine and would pay $26 for that, I apologize.

Very sweet, easy to drink and good value at under $30

Saw this in my local liqour store and the green label stood out on the Zaya bottle. 16 yr??? Decided to give it a try. I am very impressed. A lot of forward apple and vanilla flavors. Very complex profile. It is a 16yr blend, but this is a very nice, smooth rum that is great on the rocks. The finish is not as long and strong as the Zaya 12 yr, which is my favorite characteristic of the Zaya 12 yr. But this one is also much smoother... practically no burn. The finish is still relatively long and the apple and vanilla flavors linger. Overall at $23 USD (in Miami) this is a great value. I'll be buying more.

It tastes unbearably forgettable and artificially sweet. I don’t even remember the tasting notes. This is one of my first sipping rum, I remember when I first opened the bottle as a mewbie I enjoyed rums like this and bumbu. I forgot about it and started trying out new rums, and when I sampled this again a month later, I poured it out.

Not terrible. Definitely a little sweeter than most rums. Smooth finish and I like the vanilla hints. Good value.

The bad: Initially, the smell is strong, with a touch of vanilla scented cleaner or disinfectant, which seems to dissipate a little after a few minutes. The good: However the taste is quite good and pleasant. I rated it a 6 due to the sharp initial impression, but the taste is a solid 7. I'd be happy to drink this straight after letting the glass breathe for a bit. The price is good, so I'll probably purchase it again.

I don't find it "sickly sweet" as some others here do. I do find the taste seems like it has vanilla in it, which I really like.

Très bon rhum.
Arome de vanille et de caramel.
Léger pas trop puissant Petites notes sucrées. Finale Pas très longue en bouche

I'm fairly new to the game, but I have tasted a few rums prior to trying this, and although it was "satisfying" to drink, with its caramel-toffee flavor and its sweetness, it did not hit the mark for what I have come to appreciate as aged rum. However, I do see why some people swear by it. Keep in mind this is the "new" version of Zaya, unfortunately I was never able to try the original.