Ron Zacapa 23 Solera

After reading many reviews on this highly rated rum and knowing that my taste buds probably would not like it, I bought a bottle anyway. At $40 and tasting like syrup with some alcohol, I would only use it as a mixer, but will never buy another bottle. All I can taste and smell is caramel sweetness with minimal alcohol bite.

What first came to mind was comparing it to the Kirk & Sweeney 12, but that one is so much better and a LOT cheaper. If you also wasted money on this bottle, it will best be saved for visitors who like to mooch your good stuff. Let them have a few sips of this and it will offend no one. But those in the know are not fooled by this over priced mixer. Hey, I had to find out for myself and don't regret buying it, but never again.

All of these fancy rum marketing schemes only prove that fools and their money will soon part. I am now all too wary of any rum priced at over $50.

The RZ 23 was a rum I was looking forward to. It have some reputation. Unfortunately it didn't live up to it.
I mostly use it for drinks. It can be consumes straight but it's not very smooth or exiting to drink. It's a rum that I won't buy again.

Farbe: 6 aus 10
Süße: ok
Geschmack: leer d.h. 2 aus 10
Große Erwartungen die nicht erfüllt werden. Für mich ein Rum bei dem nur die leere Schärfe in Erinnerung bleibt.
Leider

This is the first rum I introduced my palate to (like 10 years ago). Back then, I couldn't stop recommending (and drinking) this rum as a must have. It's hard to accept that your top one is going down hill. Last bottle I drank ( 6 months ago) was so dissapointing, I ended up opening a spiced capitan morgan with coke. The amount of sugar in this is just absurd. It's like drinking from a maple syrup container with a sugar cube on your tongue. It is still a decent rum, but for the price, I can easily mention 5 options far better (and even cheaper). Like somebody said, zacapa is trying to suit the american palate… and that is just wroooooonggggg.
-Best approach: water and ice (50/50)
-Worst approach: coke or any sweet beaverage.
-Best with: salty snacks or dark chocolate (70 to 90% cocoa)

It's smooth... It's better than the XO. It's sugared. It's colored. It's probably spiced.

edited to add sugar test results- 20-38g that's why it's so smooth.

Not that good sweetened rum better out there too sugary

Have you ever had a first date where the week leading up to it, you were as excited as a kid on Christmas Day, with the anticipation of what could be. Only to be left disappointed with the date itself, because it turned out to be a massive let down? Well that’s pretty much how I feel about this rum. Ron Zacapa Sistema 23 had been on my radar for months and when I finally pulled the trigger and bought it, the anticipation of it’s arrival was exhilarating. But my experience of this rum, is a huge let down. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s horrid, but by the same token, I’m definitely not going to say it’s delicious. To me it’s ordinary at best and tastes like any generic rum that you can buy at your local petrol station. In fact, I’ll go a step further. I had two doubles of Zacapa, one neat and the other mixed with Coca-Cola. Immediately afterwards, I did the same using Havana Club Especial, and for me, the Havana is better tasting, both neat and as a long drink. Now I suppose it’s not such a huge shock that I find the Havana more enjoyable, apart from the fact that the Zacapa is more than double in price! Now I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to spend £50 on a rum, I want it to be if not faultless, then at the very least, charming and appetising, and not bland, boring and just about passable as adequate.

Ja det er da en udemærket rom en onsdags aften når den lille sover efter 1,5 times kamp, men så er det også det.
Jeg ville ikke hive den frem når gutterne er på besøg.
Egentlig en nydelig mørk farve og selve flasken er også pæn. Forholdsvis skarp aroma og tydelig fornemmelse af egefadet.
Efter min mening en lidt rodet blanding af smagsindtryk og ikke særlig bemærkelsesværdig eftersmag. Heraf også en lidt skæv balance efter min smag.
Alt den hype omkring den og priserne ved 2000 er mig en gåde

My son bought this because he did not research or read the label properly. He thought that it was good value for a 23 year old rum. Haha! We had a good laugh about that. lesson learned.

This has a lot of not so good things going on. Overly back-sweetened, lacks complexity, oaky finish without the benefits of oak derived ester profiles in the middle of the tasting (caramel, vanilla etc).

So many better rum offerings are available in this price range or lower.

Bang. Average.

Seriously disappointed with this.