Zaya Gran Reserva 12-Year

This is what I like in a rum.I'm not going to guess what I think it smells like, or say I get this or that "notes", I am just going to say that I enjoy this one immensely, and I love that I know that I am drinking burnt sugary goodness.

This drink is the epitome of rum. Let's start with the sweet, caramel aroma. Then, the drink is shockingly smooth. The grassy sugarcane flavor is dominant (as it should be). Then, there are the molasses, earthy, and caramel notes. The direct connection to distilled sugarcane is more obvious here than in any other I've sampled. There's a thickness to this body.
The finish is quick to leave and only adds to the experience. It's like a woman you loved but could never be with.

A wonderful sipping rum. It's a nutty sweet caramel treat... feels like being a spoilt kid. Truely luvly!

This Rum has a foriegn taste as compared to many average Rums and at first this was a bit hard to get over. After a few glasses over the year this has slowly started to become one of my favorite Rums.

Zara rum is a very sweet rum aged for a minimum of 12 years in small oak casks. Presently, Zaya is produced in Trinidad where it has been made since 2007. Previously, it was produced in Guatemala where it was a much better rum. I love the bottle presentation and labeling which I am a sucker for when it comes to adding rum to my collection.

This is a must-have in my collection. Though, the bottle recently changed to a screw-top from a cork, and that has caused me to reduce it's score from a 9 to an 8. It's a little thing, but makes me think the attention to detail has diminished.
Ignoring the new cap...
Immediately this is a smooth rum. Wonderful aroma, it sits nicely on the nose. A first taste is deliciously smooth, sweet and soft. Perhaps slightly too sweet, if you're a purist. But such a nose, and the taste that lingers... A truly magnificent sipping rum. I have no idea if it mixes well, it never crossed my mind to even try.

Can't believe how cheap!!!! I'd pay twice as much. Sweet, smooth, and thick out of the freezer. Good on it's own or with a little rum cream

Better with a slow melting cube of ice than it is neat. Vanilla smell is powerful and the taste is a little sticky with sweetness - but the ice balances nicely to give an easily sippable drink. And add a splash of coke and you've got something wonderful.

Should have been 8.5. Zaya has a super delicious scent of sweet, sweet vanilla. It leads the mind to vanilla cash. One really expects a really good glass room when you put your nose in the glass and collect impressions. Here are also notes of chocolate and mild coffee.

It's thick and dark going down the throats at first can be little harsh but it's a smooth rum