Last Night's Tipple

I read an article once that claimed that rum was unique in the world of spirits in that it was made from industrial waste that otherwise would have been completely unused. This is a little bit of an overstatement. While it is true that rum can be made from fermenting a mash of spent sugar cane, which is waste from sugar production, it can also be made from fermenting sugar (but only sugar made from sugar cane), sugar cane juice, and molasses, none of which are waste products. Most of the rum produced today is pretty close to neutral spirits: it's distilled off to a proof high enough to strip the spirit of most of its character, diluted down to 80 proof, and sold unaged. It might as well be vodka. Even most of the products labeled "añejo" really just have caramel coloring added to make it look like they have been aged in oak for a while. Fortunately, it is possible to make a quality product that has some character, and the trend toward luxury spirits has ensured that some of the good products that have always been out there can be easily found on liquor store shelves.

Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 year old rum is made in Guatemala. Yes, Guatemala. Just about every country bordering the Caribbean Sea has rum distilleries, and Guatemala borders the Caribbean Sea. Like most rum produced these days, Zacapa is distilled in a column still. Given the heat of the Caribbean region, one might suspect that a 23 year old rum would be dried out and unbearably woody, but it is not. I suspect that there are two principal reasons for that. First, it's aged in used Bourbon barrels, so there's less woody goodness for the spirit to leach out. Second, it's aged in the mountains, where it's a lot cooler. Even though it's only 80 proof, the rum is very dark. On the nose, there's a lot of molasses that gives way to vanilla and butterscotch. The palate is sweet and very spicy, with loads of cinnamon and nutmeg. There's a good deal of fruitiness there, along with a little bit of an estery candy aftertaste. This is an outstanding product. Try it next to a Baccardi Silver rum and see if you can tell that the US government considers them to be equivalent.