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Ron Zacapa XO Rum is produced in the highlands of Guatemala where it is distillled from fresh cane juice. The rum is then aged from 6 to 23 years at 7544 feet above sea level at 62 °F (17 °C) using the solera process. The solera aging process incorporates barrels that previously held American whiskeys, sherries, wines and Cognac
The unique Ron Zacapa XO glass decantur features an impression of a woven band around the middle, which is in reference to the original hand woven palm leaf petate bottle cover that covered the bottle
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Posted
3 years ago
This one is definitely my number one.
It’s so smooth and after a few seconds comes that boom that hits your chest. Just amazing. I can zip on a glass almost a hour, enjoying every single drop.
Posted
3 years ago
I compared this to 4 other great aged rums. While not the best, it wasn’t far behind it. The smooth flavor of this rum keeps bringing me back for more.
You can’t go wrong with it. Drink up my friends!!
Posted
3 years ago
Hard to imagine something a whole lot better than this. Sipped neat it's incredibly smooth with wonderful mix of spices, vanilla, and caramel. The lingering aftertaste is just delightful. Definitely what I personally enjoy. Pairs wonderfully with chocolate or a nice madura cigar.
Posted
3 years ago
I love this rum. It is sweet with a full mouth feel, lots of vanilla / molasses flavors, very smooth, and a long finish.
Posted
3 years ago
Superb sipping one for me. Very balanced taste with sweetness a bit spicy, fruit like. Caramel, some orange. Darker colour. Love it.
Posted
3 years ago
Had a chance to taste Zacapa XO at a friends house. Now he is a very good friend that I will visit more often. A straight sipper, smooth, nice body, lingering aftertaste. Not overly complex and no strong spices. Gentle, balanced, sip it slowly and enjoy.
Content a bit pricy for the taste, but I guess the price paid for the brand ...
Posted
over 3 years ago
Not being a huge fan of Zacapa (too sweet) I was not expecting this full bodied smooth rum with great depth.nut brown color, smooth taste of mild island spices blended together elegantly. Recommend drinking neat.
Posted
over 3 years ago
They have done a great Job but more effort has gone in to the bottle and the Marketing than the Rum itself
I like it I drink it £82 in UK 2021
Posted
over 3 years ago
Possibly the best bottle of rum on the market. When Zaya sold out and became mass produced I had to find a replacement. This bottle is very pricey but worth every cent. It’s delicate and delicious.
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Since I did not have much luck at all with their Zacapa 23 Solera, I was hesitant to plunk down about $90 US on a bottle of this. I tried to sample one pour at a few rum bars, but they were all out. So I walked into one of my favorite liquor stores this morning and this black box just begged me to take it home. My curiosity can be quite costly at times.
My bottle is of the newer design as shown in the photo. When poured into the snifter, it is a reddish mahogany color. The inside of the black box mentioned all of the different casks that were used for aging, including red wine. It supposedly has 26 gpl of added sugar and it's viscosity in the glass shows. Rums of between 6 and 25 years were used in the blend. The aroma is like a fine perfume. Too many complex flavors meld together in harmony, but are dominated by caramel and wood.
The closest rum that I would compare it to is Plantation XO 20th Anniversary at slightly less than half the price. No surprise here, since both are partially aged in cognac casks. As expected, Ron Zacapa XO is a few shades darker than the Plantation XO. Both have complex flavors, but the Plantation is more of fruit while the Ron Zacapa is of wood. If you blindfolded someone to test them side by side, I doubt anyone could tell which one is more expensive. It looks like I won't be buying Ron Zacapa XO again, but I still rate it as a 8. It is just not worth another $90 from me.
I started out ranking this rum as my third overall favorite, right behind Dictador XO Insolent and Dictador 20. Therefore, it starts out with a rating no higher than a 9 (which wound up back down to an 8). However, since it is heavily sweetened, I expect the flavors to change in the bottle over the next few weeks. Blame Christmas Eve and finishing off this bottle after only two weeks to show me it's excessive woody weaknesses.
Update June 14, 2020: I know that I had stated that I would buy no more of this rum, but after finishing a major photo scanning project during the pandemic lock down, I rewarded myself with another bottle of this rum since lots of concert refunds paid for it. Guess what? It lasted all of 5 days! But due to it's fancy bottle and heavy sugar dosing, this really should be reserved for guests who do not know anything about rum. I am now ready to knock my rating down to a 7.