Refined Vices

Ron Zacapa Part III: The Evolution of the Packaging

René van Hoven — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:16:00 +0000

Part I and Part II of the interview with Lorena Vasquez.

Packaging of Ron Zacapa Centenario

The packaging of Ron Zacapa Centenario has changed a few times since its introduction in 1976. Lorena explains that only the outside has changed, not the inside. The process they use now is the same they used before. Though it is a process with a lot of hand labour and it is always possible that (slowly) some minor changes appear, but people have to understand that this is not a mathematical process but a very personal one.

Some people say they have noticed a change in the flavour, but there is nothing changed in the process in the past 15 years that might explain that. Perhaps it is perception or something psychological. Many people think that since Zacapa is with Diageo the quality has to be different.

At Zacapa they say this is not true. The bottle changed in 2004 and Zacapa wasn’t with Diageo at that moment. The bottle is now transparent instead of the old dark. Perhaps sunlight has its influence on the rum on a molecular level. Recently Lorena had a tasting in London with old and new bottles of their rums. She could not find any differences.

Ron Zacapa Part II: Solera System Explained

René van Hoven — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:42:00 +0000

Part I of the Interview with Lorena Vasquez

Most of the rums from other parts of the world use a static aging process. This process consists of filling the barrels with rum, and leaving it in place for an indeterminate period of time.

Frequently, the older barrels don’t contribute much to the aging process anymore, because the wood has been spent. Not here, because the ageing at Zacapa has much similarities with the ageing of Sherry in Spain. It is called the Solera System because the barrels containing the most aged rums are closest to the ground (= suelo) hence the name.

The system is not really the same, so forget what you know about the Sherry Solera System. At Zacapa the name of this system only refers to the blending of several ages in smaller and bigger barrels. Whatever you refer to, the Solera System is a dynamic method:

Ron Zacapa Part I: Interview with the Master Blender

René van Hoven — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:00:00 +0000

The following three part article by Rene van Hoven of Rumpages.com has the largest collection of information regarding Ron Zacapa on the Internet.

On Wednesday first of April (no April fools joke!) I had a long conversation with Lorena Vásquez, the Master Blender of Zacapa. In this interview you will find the results of a 1½ hour conversation in combination with information I collected from their website and other information I had already sourced.

Ron Zacapa is a product by Rum Creation & Company Inc, a company of Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala whose Master Blender is Ana Lorena Vásquez Ampie. Her job consists not only of the blending but she is in fact responsible for the whole process all the way from distilling till bottling.

The distillation is only done once a year during a short period (2 months) directly after the harvest of the sugar cane during which Lorena is very busy in controlling the quality of the product.

Rum Distillery Excavation

Eric Tucker THE ASSOCIATED PRESS — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:14:00 +0000

PROVIDENCE — Thomas Richardson II was a wealthy, 18th-century Newport merchant and captain, a slave trader and member of the city’s privileged elite who, researchers say, manufactured rum on his waterfront property and ventured to the Caribbean and Africa.

That much is already known. But his backyard may hold many more clues to his life and that of other merchants of the time.

A team of excavators who have already spent two summers at the Richardson property, digging up everything from Chinese porcelain to animal bones, will return this summer to complete their work at the site.

The researchers are hoping to uncover a large distillery they believe was used by Richardson’s slaves to make rum. The alcohol was produced in copious quantities in colonial Newport, helping make the city a commercial hub, and it was a key element of the so-called triangular trade that carried slaves, rum, molasses and other goods and supplies between Africa, the Caribbean and New England.

London's Whisky Shops

JaRiMi — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:11:00 +0000

London as a travel destination does not necessarily conjure up images of whisky immediately to most of us. There are, of course, no distilleries as such to visit in town and even the Young's Beer Brewery, situated in Wandsworth for hundreds of years has moved onwards out of greater London.

A multitude of fantastic whisky shops combined with great old pubs where to relax and down a fine dram make London a well worthy place for a whisky aficionado to visit, if you ask me.

This is why myself and a fellow whisky aficionado "Smoke on the Water" travelled to UK in February, with a set goal of visiting every worthy whisky shop in town in the brief time of just two days.

Mount Gay 1703 The Superlative of Rum

Tatu Kaarlas — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:07:00 +0000

A symbol of luxury, glamour and revelry for centuries, the island of Barbados is also the home of Mount Gay Rum, the finest, oldest brand of rum in existence. Since 1703, Mount Gay has consistently produced rums of unsurpassed excellence and purity, proving itself to truly be the rum that invented rum.

And now, this legendary brand has once more made history. In honour of its rich heritage and centuries-old excellence, Mount Gay has crafted an entirely new product of such rarity and indescribable opulence that it may only be deemed the superlative of rum: 1703 Old Cask Selection.