Zaya Gran Reserva 12-Year

Although i started back into rum with Zaya i had to rate this a 3. Why? Simple really. The old Zaya was better to me. The new Zaya is heavily loaded or blended with additives. It's just over the top like eating candy.

zaya 2013 u mna top rum, ktory bol vo vsetkych smeroch to naj, proste extaza exotiky. po otvoreni flase bolo citit cherry, coko, banany a tak aj chutil. zaver bez jedineho skrabnutia, uplne jemnucky olejovy rumicek s fantastickou chutou. lenze, jedneho dna bol tento skvost nedostupny a trvalo par rokov kym som ho znova objavil. flasa aj obal mierne pozmeneny a rum vo vnutri zmeneny poriadne. aj ked pisu ze rovnaka receptura, proste za tie prachy, cca 50 € je to uplna katastrofa. nechal som ho v pohari 20 minut odstat a trosku sa vratila jemnost v zavere, ale samotna chut je nevyrazna, slaby sedy priemer. takze pozor aku flasu idete pit, na lavo nova zaya, na pravo stara.

The old presentation was better. I would not recommend to buy this one, there's better option for $35 Rums like Don Pancho 8 years.

Cheap vanilla flavor with a lack of smoothness. Better buying Kraken.

I had read such great things about this rum I have to say I was a little disappointed last night when I tried it. I get blasted with the overpowering caramel aroma and flavor. I will try it on ice to see if it has a life other than a mixing rum.

Additional review comments: After trying this 3 more times I think I either have a bad bottle or they have changed their way of creating this rum. It is not enjoyable neat, with water, rocks and I think it would not work well with Coke or any other soda. I read that the 12 of the bottle no longer refers to any age of the rum, but is letting you know that 12 different rums have been blended to create what is in the bottle.

I am not an age snob, don't care if color or sugar has been added to the rum as long as I enjoy the experience of drinking the rum. I can't say I am enjoying this one at all.

I was looking forward to try Zaya 12 after reading the good impressions on this site and other, so I choose to buy a bottle instead of Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva that I know and love. Must say Zaya is a very smooth rum, but I´m real disappointed that a rum costing around 80 $, here in Denmark, doesn´t have more to offer. I tasted it up against my Plantation 20 Anniversario, Eldorado 12 and Millonario 15 Reserva Especial, where Plantaion cost the same and the two other are cheaper. They all 3 have fine complexity and the afterburn is good compared to zaya 12 that almost has none other than a sweet taste. Maybe zaya is cheaper else where in the world or they have cut down quality to fulfill demands. To me Zaya 12 is sweet, smooth, anonymous and way to expensive. I will buy good old Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva next time, that´s for sure.

It's sickly sweet and oh, the vanilla! Zaya Gran Reserva used to be a bit of a guilty pleasure but the reformulation is a syrupy mess. There are so many better rums in my collection these days.

The added sugars - and probably coloring - massacre what seems to be a decent rum hiding in the cellar from the onslaught. My diabetic friend loves it, but I feel guilty about killing him and so, will not purchase another bottle merely to transfer to him. Doorly's XO, for example, is three times the rum at 1/2 the price. I will go out of my way to avoid sipping this again.

...but not great. I do understand a lot of people like this sweet toffee, but it's lacking depth and originality. Down the palate it even seems like one can taste the dilution with water, an artificial taste of vanilla and much too much sugar which must have been added afterwards and burns your esophagus. I'm not a Zacapa fan either but I'd prefer it to this one and know now why the two rums have the same supporters - candy lovers! Still you can sip it and offer it to your sweet tooth guests after dinner as dessert or pour it over the ice cream or hot wafers. Not at all worth the 50 EUR and more you have to pay in Europe. Will never buy it again!

For years Zaya - the 12 year old version - was my favorite and go-to rum. The scent of vanilla filled the room when the bottle was opened and the liquid went down like gold. The crap that they have replaced it with - a blend of 12 aged rums to keep the big 12 label - is an embarrassment to what was Zaya. Bait and switch.