Dept of Doubts: Zacapa 23, new formula...

[Capn Jimbo]

Thanks to Yank...


Our good friend NCYankee brought an interesting post from his other hangout - the Chowhound site - as follows...

JMF: "You may want to revisit the Zacapa 23. The Master Distiller/blender has been bringing it back in line to its flavor profile of 12-15 years ago, before it was sweetened up to suit the market of the time. Had a new bottle of it in a blind taste test last week and it wasn't sweet and syrupy as it had been the past decade. One person thought it was a whiskey that had been secondary aged in a rum barrel. An excellent rum once again. Just make sure it is a new bottle and not one that's been sitting on the shelf."

I'm sorry, but I'm not buying this and I posted my rationale...

Moi:

That's an interesting claim, but I have my doubts...

1. They are committed to a large volume of sales to folks that like the current sweetie formulation.

2. They are running short of stock.

3. Remember, they claim "solera" production. Think about it - one of my big criticisms of true solera is how hard it is to correct for mistakes. What happens if you get a bad batch? Start another solera and wait 23 years? Never happen. Zacapa claims to sit on a solera system that is at least 23 years old. If true (and I've never believed it was), there's no way.

4. For years they've denied "alteration", now they admit it? And are gonna change it? Really?

Which line are we going to believe - that its a 23 year old "solera" and that was never altered with sugar - or that it really isn't a real solera and they're now gonna remove the sugar they say they never added?

I'll believe it when I taste it...

And adding this...

Moi:

It is also notable that although Z-23 was once held to be "the best rum in the world". They claimed a 23 year old solera, and claimed the incredible thick sweetness was due to aging and not added.

A true solera is typically four barrels high. If you ever saw Zacapa's flow chart of barrels it looks like an etch-a-sketch that someone shook. A solera is a huge endeavor, and like the Titantic is not easily changed or altered as you have - if true - over 23 years of rum sitting in a huge stack, at least 7/8 of which is still working its way down the solera.

You simply can't change a solera overnight - it just can't be done. Personally, I've never believed in this company's solera claims, especially having seen the flowchart. If their sweetness was really due to the 23 years of aging and repeated charring of their barrels - as they claim - then the sweetness simply cannot be removed.

OTOH, if the amazing syrupy sweetness is added, only then can the formula be easily modified by not adding sugar and/or other additives just prior to bottling. In this case, what are we to think of the years of solera/no sugar claims?

Bottom Line

The Zee boyz can't have it both ways. You can't claim you are a true solera rum of 23 years, whose super syrupy sweet profile is due to aging and charring, and then claim that you can quickly and easily the remove the sugar you claimed you never added...

[NCyankee]

You're welcome to your doubts, JMF is an artisan distiller and consultant and works closely with industry insiders, this is probably not a change that Zacapa is advertising but rather something he heard directly from the master blender.

[Capn Jimbo]

Let's give the benefit of the doubt...


Let's try again... if this independent source is correct in saying that the Master Blender told him (this is already hearsay) that Z-23 had been changed (virtually overnight) to an allegedly older and far less sweet "whisky-like" profile - then that means Zacapa's last 20 or 30 years of advertising as "a solera rum of 23 years duration and free of additives (sugar)" is false.

The reasons are simple:

1. A solera is a HUGE endeavor with at least 4 levels of criadera. In Zacapa's case the claim of 5 levels is possible. Each year no more than 1/2 of the bottom barrel (containing the oldest rum) is withdrawn, which means that a huge amount of the younger rum remains, perhaps 8 or 9 years worth of production. Changing the profile of an established solera is like turning the Titanic.

2. If the syrupy sweetness was really due to aging in repeatedly charred barrels, then the sweetness is inherent and cannot be stopped or removed from most of their solera reserves. This amounts to roughly nine times the annual production in very, very sweet reserves.

Now...

If the hearsay regarding is correct in that Zacapa made what amounts to an overnight change then for Zacapa's "no sugar" claims to be true, they would now have to trash that 8 or 9 years of reserve production. And that - of course - will never, ever happen! What this really means then is that the sweetness was likely added - as many suspected - and therefore can now be omitted just as quickly and easily. Capish?

The point: they can't have it both ways. As for me Yank, I believe your bit of hearsay is indeed true. Zacapa may well be changing - vitually overnight - to a much less sweet profile. And if indeed a taste test proves you right - which I anticipate - then Zacapa's last 20 years of marketing claims of a sugar free solera will have been seriously challenged.

Some would say a lie...

[JaRiMi]

Zacapa's marketing has been lies all around for as long as I can recall, and this is a sad thing indeed. I am willing to bet a sum of money, that Guatemala's rum legislation is made so, that additions even to new make spirit, not just additions (like sweetening the product) done just prior to bottling.

They used to ride a high horse, saying their rum was 23 years old. Err, no it wasn't. I'd make sure personally to mention this if I ever met their master distiller. Funnily enough, the rum writers allow the people they interview to get away with it.

I'd like to see when some drinks writer really has the cajones to put one of these master distillers etc rum people finally to the bench, and REALLY do a 3rd degree interrogation, to get the facts finally out.

A lot of cleaning up to be done in rum...and yet still, rum as a spirit really IS a great thing. It would just be that much better without all the lies and halftruths.