Production
Botran and Zacapa rums start from sugarcane from the Tululá Sugar Mill, grown in the volcanic soil of Guatemala.[10] The sugarcane matures in its second year, at which point the field is burned to burn off the leaves of the plants. The sugarcane is squeezed for its juice, which is then reduced to a syrup (called "miel de caña", or sugarcane honey, in Spanish). This is then fermented for 120 hours using Saccharomyces cerevisae, a yeast strain originating in pineapples,[11] and distilled in multi-column stills, producing a light, neutral aguardiente, typical of Spanish-style rum production. The stills have taps at different intervals, allowing the produced rum to come from higher taps, producing lighter, cleaner, stronger spirit, or from lower taps, allowing for a more flavorful spirit. For example, Zacapa 15 is a lighter product and exits from a higher tap at 92% ABV, while Zacapa 23 exits from a lower tap to achieve bolder, fruitier flavors at 88% ABV. This process happens for only two months out of the year, as it's timed to the annual sugarcane harvest.[12]
All Zacapa rums are aged in the "dynamic solera" style, inspired by solera wine aging, where the rum does not have a distinct age, but rather, new rum is added to old rum and blended in a series of casks.[13] The freshly distilled aguardiente is diluted to 60% ABV before the aging process begins.[12] The spirit ages in a series consisting of bourbon barrels, re-charred bourbon barrels, Sherry casks, Pedro Ximénez barrels,[3] all American white oak, and sometimes cognac barrels, made of French oak,[12] for a total of 6 years of aging, with blending in a vat between each stage.[13] During the blending, a small portion of the final product is added, allowing for some of the rum to be much older than 6 years, up to 23 years.[13] Finally, the rum is filtered using cellulose to prevent a cloudy appearance at colder temperatures, before being bottled.[12] All of this occurs at a facility 2.3km above sea level, where the air is cool and moist,[14] which significantly slows loss to evaporation compared to tropical aging.
Rum experts have accused Zacapa of being misleading in their labeling, suggesting that the large 23 on the bottle is likely to mislead consumers into believing that the rum is aged for 23 years.[15] However, the rum is actually a blend ranging from 6 to 23 years, mostly skewed towards the younger end, and disguised with added sugar.[16] In 2021, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Diageo, claiming that consumers were fooled into believing that Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 was aged for 23 years.[17][18] Likewise, maturation in cool, moist climates significantly slows down the aging process, resulting in a product more comparable to a rum aged for a shorter length of time in a tropical climate.[15]
Despite starting from sugar cane, sugar does not make it past the distillation process, and Zacapa strongly deny that they adulterate the final product in any way.[12] Consumers note that Zacapa rums are particularly smooth and sweet,[3] a result that Zacapa claims comes from the unique aging and blending process.[19] However, independent testing has confirmed that the sugar levels are nearly 20g/L.[16] Likewise, the deep brown color can only be partially attributed to the solera-style aging, as the rum is artificially dyed,[16] and independent journalists have discovered the presence of glycerine, a substance used to add sweetness and mouthfeel to rum.[20][21]
