Ron Zacapa Sistema Solera 23

One of my all-time favorites, good for beginners who had their first sweet rum and want something a little more interesting. Creamy vanilla, caramel, and some wood on the palate with a nice finish that could be a bit longer. Good daily sipper but not very complex.

8:On the nose it initially gives a bouquet of brown sugar, it reminds a little of a chocolate or caramel/toffee sauce for ice cream or desserts, red, tropical fruits, raisins are there, also a feeling for the aged rums in the blend with a little oak and cocoa coming through. 8,5:Upon tasting, the rum is not as sweet as expected. The nosing suggested it could be as sweet as some older El Dorado rums with much more sugar. . The Zacapa 23 is actually not as dry as XO, but it is oaky, buttery, vanillia, a note of coffee expresses itself. The flavour builds if you leave the rum in your mouth for a little longer allowing it to coat the palate. You then get some of the cocoa flavours, caramel and a little bit of tropical fruit, raisins-sherry finish present. 8,5:on the finish the rum is very smooth and has almost none aftertaste or alcohol burn. Red fruits, punchy taste is carrying on, with minimum dryness. It is very pleasant to sip it, no matter what is written about it, this is a tasty and really round rum, few added grams sugar more or less🙂. Edit:29.6.25, a nice sipper

My second bottle of this rum. I bought the first bottle deliberately in my early days, but this one was a gift. Spicy, slightly sweet, vanilla, caramel and alcoholic notes. More marketing than quality in the bottle

The Ron Zacapa 23 was a recommendation and for me a direct hit. A great smell of vanilla, fruit and a little wood. The taste is mild and smooth. A little more wood than in the smell. Lingers longer on the tongue. Very pleasant. Sweetened yes, but not too sweet Nice dark color, unfortunately helped with caramel. My first Zacapa but certainly not the last.

Zacapa is a rum I would never buy. And not because it's bad, but for that price I'd rather buy something better (pusser's, black tot...). If I gave it to someone who doesn't drink rum, they would like it. The bottle also looks nice, ideal as a gift (for someone who likes rum once in a while). To me it is a very sweet rum and also only 40% alcohol. I find the smell too artificial and the taste is round, but to me it's like drinking water, very weak. More like a gift than for drinking. 5/10

Very long ago my favourite rum. I have even chosen it to be the only rum on my wedding. After some time I think that the quality went down. So I kind of left the rum as it was to 'commercialised'. However I have to admit that even after so many years, it is still one of the best and worth of not only trying but also regular drinking.

The bottle was a gift. I would probably never have bought it. Lots of sweetness, caramel, toffee, chocolate and coffee. But overall thin, not complex and somewhat artificial. I poured it into a tumbler, added some ice and lime juice and it was fine

Zacapa is in a pudgy mood. Very pleasant on the palate, its sweetness leaves us on a woody, spicy path. I highly recommend it.

Smells like you would expect from a column still at this dilution and this “age”: honey and syrupy with a little bit of wood and oily orange peel. A single clove present. But all in all, it’s very dessert-like in the sense of chocolate dipped macaroons. Both taste and finish are completely overpowered by the sweetness. It’s a shame the little complexity it had on the nose is lost. No flavours are left but sugar and water. Ultimately making this a fortified 1/1 sugar syrup. This is a decent bottle in mixology, but I would highly discourage sipping this as it’s very artificial tasting, over-diluted and severely lacking complexity.

A really good classic. Balanced and round in taste, a long finish with a slight pleasant spiciness.

Clearly too sweet and flat for me

Dark in color. Smells of caramel, butterscotch, tabaco, spice, barrel and charred barrel. Flavor follows suit, pretty sweet but great flavors.

This is a very well balanced rum from Zacapa and I like is a lot especially considering the price tag. The nose is heavy with spice and sweetness and a touch of orange zest and chocolate. The palate is well rounded with caramel, honey and chocolate topped of with burnt oak and overripe fruits. It has a long, sweet and fruity finish with burnt oak. I'd say this one is better than the bottling from the late 90s and early 00s that won medals. Price to quality is very good.

Pleasant and widely available - one of the rums that every rum lover has probably had in their glass at least once. With typical rum aromas of vanilla, caramel and spice - the profile is primarily characterized by a dominant sweetness. Very accessible, manageable complexity.

Very well-known and popular rum and also not quite as sweet as a Diplomatico, but the price-performance ratio is bad with Zacapa. Pleasantly round after caramel, honey, vanilla, and fruit, but some alcohol sharpness with it. In the mouth clearly spicier than the nose suggests. Positive is the roasty aroma in the mouth and finish, which can be associated with coffee.