Santa Teresa 1796 seems to garner uniformly top ratings and exceeds the preferred $20-29 price range. Is it worthy and worth it? Largely - yes, but like Zacapa 23 perhaps a bit overrated. Or not. Let's see the reviews please...
Sue Sea:
Me:Santa Teresa has a lovely, classic bottle and label you'll enjoy. Its color is a brilliant clear medium light amber. It's aroma is wonderful - a bit oakey, maybe a bit of cherrywood. But the feature is a deeper apricot vanilla, reminiscent of baked brown sugar. Teresa taste is entirely consistent, an apricot-vanilla cream or honey. Its finish is medium, warm, peppery and leaves a fruity aftertaste. I found this rum fresh and refreshing, like a nice Spring day.
I like Santa Teresa. It the brilliant and sparkling clarity of a great rum and exudes a very pleasant vanilla-honey/caramel aroma. Teresa's body is medium light and smooth, and its taste is consistent with the aroma, nicely balanced. The palate ends in astringency. Teresa's medium finish is very smooth, warm, and light peppery. An altogether easy rum to drink. Priced reasonably in the low to mid $30's, Santa Teresa is not a must, but is a very nice buy.
Rating (10 is best): 8.