Ron Zacapa 23 Solera

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.

Great taste, to the sweeter side, keep the glas with an aroma of the rum

Very nice smooth creamy sipping rum, good for beginners. A little to much sugar for my taste. But still enjoy a glass every now and then. Chocolate, caramel, vanilla and maybe som coffe notes in there.

Always know what to expect with this one. Slightly too sweet but enjoyable as a sipper none the less.

Sweet and delicious rum.
One of the faves.
Love the slight change of flavours while siping on it.

The colour is golden brown.
The nose offers burned butter and caramel sweetness indicative of crème brûlée.
The mouth feel is thick, oily and mouth coating.
On the palate there’s caramel sweetness with citrus, burnt butter, some fruitiness and a warming toasted oak with spiciness, followed by cocoa / dark chocolate. Very rich and intense and quite complex,
The finish is relatively short with sweet oranges and a brandy like fruitiness. Overall it’s very good but although the addition of colouring caramel would have artificially enhanced the mouthfeel, colour and flavour.

The first time I tried this rum, I liked it. I pretty much only drink rum neat or over ice, and this one goes down smoothly. It is on the sweet side, but has nice color, flavors of caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon. However, I've learned that Zacapa is one of the brands that adds additional sugar and color to their rums and that's certainly affected my view of this rum. I received a bottle as a gift and enjoyed drinking it, but I don't buy it for myself anymore.

My go to when I can't get my favorite navy strengths. It's not super strong, but very flavorful.

I prefer more unique and aggressive styles, but I appreciate that a good Solera tends to be very approachable. Easy to drink straight. But, I don't think the additional "Solera years" adds much over a slightly "younger" and cheaper bottle in the style. Anything that sets this apart requires a more subtle palate than mine.

1 of my best rum in my collection, sweet and strong with hint of ?