Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum
Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum is a 750mL Guatemalan rum bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof), blending rums aged between 6 and 23 years under the Sistema Solera from virgin sugar cane honey, and aged at 2,300 metres in the Quetzaltenango highlands. The "23" names the oldest rum in the blend — not the age of the bottle. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 40% (80 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Age: Sistema Solera blend of rums aged 6 to 23 years ("23" = oldest component)
- Base: Virgin sugar cane honey (concentrated first press, not molasses)
- Casks: Selected barrels that previously held American whiskey, sherries and Pedro Ximenez wines
- Ageing: 2,300m above sea level, "House Above the Clouds," Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
The Original Zacapa, from the House Above the Clouds
Zacapa 23 is the house flagship, created in 1976 for the centenary of the town of Zacapa by the house Master Blender Lorena Vásquez's predecessors and blended today under her hand. Diageo reports Gold medals for Zacapa 23 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the World Rum Awards, and every bottle wears a hand-woven petate band made by women of Mayan heritage. Explore the house on the Ron Zacapa vendor page, or browse our rum collection.
Tasting Notes
Per the brand's published notes: caramel, vanilla, cacao and butterscotch open the nose, with sherried caramelised Brazil nuts, toasted hazelnut, toffee and dried pineapple; a complex, full-bodied palate of dried fruit and apricot building to savoury oak, nutmeg, leather, tobacco, coffee and vanilla; a honeyed butterscotch finish with spiced oak and dried fruit.
How to Enjoy
Pour it neat or on the rocks, or use it as the dark-spirit base in a stirred cocktail. The cognac-finished flagship is in our rum collection as Zacapa XO.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zacapa 23 a 23 year old rum?
No — it is a solera blend of rums aged 6 to 23 years. The name refers to the oldest component; the brand renamed it from "23 Anos" because shoppers mistook it for a 23-year age statement.
What is the Sistema Solera?
A fractional ageing system in which younger rums are blended through a sequence of casks — here, barrels that held American whiskey, sherry and Pedro Ximenez wines — so every bottle mixes a range of ages.
How is Zacapa different from molasses rum?
It starts from virgin sugar cane honey, the concentrated first press of cane juice, fermented with yeast extracted from pineapples — the base Diageo credits for its sweeter, smoother profile.
The flagship solera, six to twenty-three years in one blend — order Ron Zacapa 23 online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.