Zaya Grande Reserva 16-Year

This is the worst Rum I’ve tried to date… yuck. I’m not sure if the 12 year is any better but this is nasty. I poured me some,, tried it, yuck. Let it air a bit and tried more,, yuck,, dumped glass in the sink.

First, I'm fairly liberal. I figure I'm not the final word when it comes to judging what others will like. But the Zaya Grande Reserva 16 Year deserves to be called out. First, make sure it's the new green necked/labeled iteration that we are talking about and second, it's NOT A 16 YEAR OLD RUM! It is a solera rum. They are being quite cute by putting the "16 Years" in a much larger font than the tiny print of the warning, "A blend of Rums aged up to".

It seems that the move from Guatemala has resulted in a continued loss of positive character in this sad Rum.

Don't get me wrong. I agree, a solera rum can definitely be a good rum. But it's insulting to other correctly labeled rums to hide behind a tricky label.

That said, the Zaya Grande Reserva I tasted was sickly sweet and overpriced even for $26. But, if you are someone who mixes all the flavors at the Slurpee machine and would pay $26 for that, I apologize.

It's not an overstatement to say that this represents what's wrong with the world of rum today. From the misleading 16 year moniker to the horrible, artificially sweet taste provided by... artificial means.

(SMH the entire time I type this)

This is one of the worst rums I've had that was $30+ a bottle. Overly sweet. Artificial caramel taste. No redeeming value. Sad because I've had really good Zaya rum, but this is definitely not one.

I wanted to like this rum because I spent a lot of money on it based on its attractive bottle and name. As others have noted, this rum is very sweet, although the sweetness is partially masked by the alcohol. On the nose one can immediately detect the sweetness, but underneath there is an unpleasant odor of cleanser which is astringent. On the tongue the high sugar level is immediately apparent followed by what can only be described as an unpleasant slightly bitter aftertaste reminiscent of cleaning fluid. This rum is a great disappointment and barely drinkable. Avoid it. I will use this bottle, if it all, in mixed drinks and coffee - perhaps, but a shame to ruin good coffee so only instant.

This rum is beyond bad. Too much vanilla and a heavy metal petroleum taste. The taste is so toxic, I'm afraid this rum has poisonous materials in it. Its going under the sink for the next time I need an abrasive toxic cleaner since I can't return the bottle due to Covid. Gross.