Ron Zacapa

I'm a scotch drinker, single malt when I can afford it. Didn't think of rum as anything more than a liquid panty remover, that is, until I had my first taste of Centenario. Was in Guatemala and bought a bottle of 23 year old and one of Ron Zacapa Centenario Commerativo because I thought the bottles would make good presents. Tapped the lighter one while there. The Centenario. I was very pleasantly surprised. Good nose, good "legs" as you swirl it around the brandy balloon - as it should have, being as old as it is.

Great taste and excellent finish. I'm not going to describe the taste. Taste is too subjective. Except I will say that I liked it and I can't notice any objectionable "woody" or charcoal flavor mentioned by some reviewers. Besides, I think charcoal is used as filtering agent because it removes flavors rather than imparts them.

I can't find the Centenario Commerativo in the States. It was a liitle darker and to me, a bit more intense than the regular Centenario. Although I found it similar to the "regular" Centenario, maybe it was a little overpowering - something to be sipped very slowly over the course of a long winter afternoon.

Mix it? One could of course, but with something as good as this rum is, I think one should honor it as one would a fine single malt and appreciate it by itself, neat, iceless to enjoy all the nuanced flavors, unhindered.