The Zacapa XO is rather disappointing for me, without having any real expectations. The influence of sugar and glycerin is clearly visible. The profile one-dimensional and boring. For 100 euros, the quality is not sufficient and the taste is clearly intended for the mass market. A super easy sipper, which you could use for getting drunk and for harmless drinking if it weren't so expensive. Please buy three bottles of Botucal (Diplomatico) because it has the same quality and has the same purpose. Fast easy drinking. The presentation of the XO is spectacular with a beautiful crystal like decanter with embossed metal labelling and a beautiful box to store the rum, with a few notes on the rum and its heritage. At this kind of price you really should be getting top notch presentation. It’s very much a rum you could imagine a non rum drinker buying for a rum lover as a present. It’s very eye catching and its appearance does suggest quality. I’m sure we are all aware of the marketing and the awards Ron Zacapa have won over the years. Not to mention the criticism the brand has come in for due to the sugar additions to their rums. Zacapa holds the accolade of being widely recognised as “one of the best rums in the world” on one hand whilst seen as the devil itself by many within the rum community. The nose is sweet, dark chocolate with bursts of sweet citrus notes. It is rich with coffee notes and a little tobacco. There is also a brandy like intensity about the nose. Hints of leather and oak ageing. It is reminiscent of the 23 with that distinctive Zacapa like sweet note. It’s a complex and very rich nosing experience and something which will certainly appeal to a lot of rum drinkers.

Ron Zacapa Centenario - Wikipedia Ron Zacapa Centenario - Wikipedia

Flavour: At first sharper, then mellower and sweeter. There were a lot of cognac, mon cherry, caramel and honey on the palate. Nose: Smooth and pleasant with no pungent alcoholic odour. The aroma of caramel, honey, ripe cherries, dark chocolate, raisins, wood and smoke was identified.

On the other hand the XO does have quite a lot going on. As well as the strong Christmas pudding notes of orange peel ginger, cinnamon and plump brandy infused dried fruits it also has a slightly dry almost sweet and sour note which is common in Bourbon. I kind of Sour Mash feel going on with it as well. Ron Zacapa Centenario is a premium rum produced in Guatemala [1] by Rum Creation and Products, a subsidiary of Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala, and distributed and marketed by Diageo. Zacapa Centenario was created in 1976 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the foundation of Zacapa, a town in eastern Guatemala. It was the result of the blending, stabilization and maturing processes of long-aged rums by doctor and chemist named Alejandro Burgaleta. [2] Ron Zacapa is distinctive in that it is aged in a facility at an altitude with natural coolness which avoids evaporation resulting in a usually smooth product. Conclusion: The Zacapa XO is slightly woodier and less sweet than the Solera 23, but is overall more complex. Personally, I would reach for a bottle of XO.

Ron Zacapa XO Centenario Solera Gran Reserva Especial Ron Zacapa XO Centenario Solera Gran Reserva Especial

Greenspan, Eliot (27 February 2007). Frommer's Guatemala. ISBN 9780470047309 . Retrieved 8 August 2015. The Ron Zacapa Centenario XO is a solera rum from Guatemala, which was blended from different rums between 10-25 years. The rum made in Column Style is made from sugar cane honey, which means nothing else than a sugar cane syrup is used. The rum is bottled in a pretty bottle with 40% alcohol and contains caramel coloring, approx. 20g/l sugar and glycerin. Ron Zacapa XO is the “super premium” addition to the regular Ron Zacapa range. There are many others yearly variations on the rum but this one along with the Sistema Solera 23 has been available for a number of years now.There is sweet mocha like coffee along with a little tobacco but really the sweetness overall dominates. The rum doesn’t taste aged because it is so sweet. Any tobacco or oak notes are lost in the sweetness. Pouring the rum it reveals itself as a dark mahogany colour with flashes of red and orange. It’s very dark both in the bottle and the glass. Zacapa Centenario Reserva 23 Años Copas Riedel (Guatemala)". licorea.com . Retrieved 8 August 2015.

Review: Ron Zacapa XO - Drinkhacker

A blend of rums aged up to 25 years from Guatemala, ABV 40%. The rums were aged in bourbon, sherry and finally cognac casks.Sangster, Rob. Traveler's Tool Kit: Mexico and Central America. Menasha Ridge Press, 2008. ISBN 0-89732-984-8 I personally don’t mind Zacapa 23 – I think its overpriced for what it is but it makes a decent enough sweet sipper and mixes pretty well.