Zaya rum

The newest bottles don't even have a paper sleeve on the neck, they have a metal screw top and collar. I picked up a bottle for what I thought was a great price of $25 last year in Florida. I just opened it a couple days ago and I have to say I agree with you this stuff is horrible.

I had a bottle stashed in my cellar and finally got over there tonight (I have been living at my GFs house, my house is basically booze storage.) I was thrilled to see it has the straw wrap!! Opened it tonight and - although it is definitely a sweet bomb, at least it tastes good. The newer stuff basically tastes like vanilla extract.

Its a real shame what they did to this rum.... If you like a rum with some hints of vanilla, try Angostura 1919

I too was horribly disappointed by Zaya. Little more than brown, sugary booze. For half the price, I'd pick a bottle of Captain Morgan spiced over this. And I mean that seriously. The label is horribly misleading as well, giving the impression you are getting an aged product when in fact the 12 should refer to the number of grams of sugar in any given bottle.

Zaya used to be one of my top rums maybe 8-10 years ago. I haven't tried it recently, really disappointing to hear it has gone down hill :(

I emailed them regarding my disappointment, of course they did not give a reply

It's too bad if you see what is going on with a few big distillers. Not just Zaya, it seems Zacapa 23, Dictator 20 is not the same again. Probably they pushed the solera system too much.
I get more and more into single cask rum, expensive but worth every drop.

I find it definitely too sweet to drink straight but I think it does well as an old fashioned with both Angostura and orange bitters and very little (if any) added sugar.

I agree. When I first got a bottle 5 years ago Zaya was excellent, one of my favorite rums back then. About 2 years ago my stash ran out and I bought a new bottle...and it tasted very very off...like a bunch of syrup with vanilla extract. It’s not horrific like Kraken is too me, but it’s a very far cry from what it used to be. What a shame.

Good to know. It was a blend of five different rums.
I enjoyed it for Christmas, cocoa, cinnamon, and spice. Very warming.