A moment for Zacapa

A three-day trip to Guatemala to learn all about this glorious rum

Funnily enough my go-to in pubs and clubs is rum and coke. Always dark rum, always full fat coke. It’s a bit of a fail-safe drink of enjoyment for me. I find it refreshing and the masses of sugar keeps me perky. Outside of this late-night enjoyment my rum knowledge has been very limited. The sort of knowledge you need for WSET but without really absorbing it or I suppose, taking a great deal of time to research it outside of the odd press send out. I basically just knew it was made from molasses and usually from the Caribbean. When I was invited to Guatemala on behalf of Zacapa, a rum I knew to be very much in the premium hemisphere of spirits, let alone rum, I hastily replied yes and hereby began my new-found passion for premium rum. Oh no, another bottle to add to my arsenal.

I think the moment of realisation that we were dealing with something elevated was trying molasses alongside virgin sugar cane syrup. I was very familiar with the smell of molasses; the horses love it and they have a big slab of it in a tub that provides distractions from grooming scenarios they might otherwise have opinions about. I had not however, chosen to taste any of the horse varieties of molasses and I wasn’t prepared for how bitter it was. It’s really quite ghastly, one imagines that tarmac has a similar effect on the tongue. However, many glorious and enjoyable rums start out as molasses as so many whiskies began from a non-too enjoyable malted mash, unless All Bran is your bag, I guess. So, what is virgin sugar cane syrup? Mickey Flanagan springs to mind… It is a syrup derived directly from a chosen variety of sugar cane with the sole purpose of becoming a rum. It is a bit less obvious on the nose but it tastes absolutely delicious, this is how Zacapa begins. It was more from necessity than style that this method began as until the 80s, molasses was banned and rum had to be made from the sugar cane syrup. It reminded me of Irish whiskey and the tax on malted barley. If you want to carry on making something you just have to adapt and overcome and usually discover something exciting along the way. This tasting of the components of Zacapa was hosted by the vibrant Lorena Vásquez, Master Blender at Zacapa. Lorena has been with the company for many years but her fascination in taste still runs so deep. You can read more about her in my upcoming piece about Zacapa in The Rake.

I suppose what it comes down to is how (stress on the italics) do you enjoy a rum as premium as Zacapa in the same way you aren’t sure whether you can put a premium whisky into an Old Fashioned. It turns out, like most things, you can enjoy it anyway you want to. We tried all manner of Zacapa cocktails including an Espresso Martini, Old Fashioned and something about a Panther. I fell in love, particularly in the setting of a coffee farm shaking up an Espresso Martini with freshly ground coffee from the very plants infront of us. You can just about get hold of Zacapa in the UK but the market isn’t as rife as elsewhere yet. I think an Espresso Martini is fairly self-explanatory and well-researched, simply replace your alcohol of choice with Zacapa No.23 Rum. As it is Spring verging on Summer, here is a recipe for a Zacapa Spritz, the ultimate refreshing sip.

Zacapa Spritz

You will need:

Zacapa Solera Gran Reserva
The King’s Ginger Liqueur
Apple Juice
Sparkling Wine
Lemon Juice
Honey

Over ice, combine 50ml of Zacapa Solera Gran Reserva with 25ml of King’s Ginger, 75ml of Apple Juice, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey. Shake well and strain into a wine glass that is prepared with ice (as with an ordinary spritz) top up to almost the rim with a sparkling wine of your choice. Garnish with edible flowers or a lemon peel.

Note: this is the boozy version, I take no responsibility for your hangovers or bad decisions. Drink Responsibly!