Poll of the Day > Got me a fancy rum: Zafra 21(aka lets talk about rum)

(+) Yeah! (+)

21 years old making her perfectly legal in every sense!

Before working at a liquor store I never realized rum has a market kind of like whisky: barrel aged expressions to show what a good rum can be. I never knew this, until a customer told me about Kirk and Sweeney 12 year. Until I had that it was really just Captain and other assorted stuff not as fine as that. At $30 it is a steal because it is so smooth and has so much character. It shows what rum can be if you shy away from the mainstream market a little, though brands like Bacardi have an 8 ans edition and they can get a little upscale, too.

So, I've wanted to try this one for a variety of reasons, namely because at my store this is the oldest rum we have that is not a blend. We have a 23 year bottle blended with spirit from 6 years to 23, so while it is more reasonable than Zafra(60 vs $47) it isn't a true 23 year.

When I was in Phoenix earlier this year I wanted to try and find this at a Total Wine; being from Commievania I was disappointed I could not, however there are so many brands of liquor in existence I can't fault them for not having it even though its a warehouse sized megacenter. So instead I settled on something called "Ron Mateusalem 23" which I did not like. It was definitely drinkable but not nearly as smooth and flavorful, in my opinion, as Kirk. Sometimes I feel like spirit is made and aged to say they did it, but not much of an eye to what it's supposed to taste like. Such as: Black Velvet 8 and Pike Creek 10 rum cask. My opinion of Ron could be wrong as I am no rum master, having just one premium rum before that. It was also a blend, so not 100% 23 year. You can find blends that are 100% the year just different varieties and thats fine. Blends can be good but sometimes it is used to make a cheaper spirit while you need to read the fine print to see how and why its blended if it is.

This is a producto de panama and 40% alcohol. This also has been matured in bourbon casks. It costs as mentioned $60

This stuff is a deep, dark brown. This smells light and sweet and a little creamy. I can't put my finger on it, but despite there being some alcohol present, it smells awesome!

As far as how it tastes...I am no rum master, but I enjoy it. its sweet and has a little burn but overall pleasant. I'm pretty bad at describing what it is I am smelling and tasting on this one. it is beyond drinkable though. it has a pleasant taste but it doesn't wow me.

So there you have it! a fine product to try if you are interested in such a thing and consider its value worth something in the ballpark range of $60.

So that begs the question. aged rums. do you guys have any favorites? lets talk about rum

My favorite rum is 10cane from Trinidad. Very pale yellow amber, naturally sweet and paired well in iced club with fresh lime.
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