Ron Zacapa Centenario Sistema Solera No. 23 Solera Gran Reserva Julio Ricardo Montoya de la Rosa Ramírez. With so many words on the front of the label, you know that this rum is Guatemalan royalty.

This is a staple of liquor stores, for some reason. Yeah, there’s Malibu, the Captain, Bacardi, and a few others that sometimes show up, like Diplomatico and Barbancourt… but this one shows up in almost all of them. Why? Why does every liquor store want to stock this? Perhaps it’s the high price? Perhaps it’s the giant 23 on the front, suggesting that they are carrying something worthy of the top shelf?

Is it worthy of the top shelf? Is it worth the $50 that everyone charges for it?

Based on the overall reputation, I was not enthusiastic, so I skipped it for a while. That is, until one day, I saw a 50mL for sale.

Review

Smell

There is a deep, rich smell of caramel, vanilla, and molasses. I also get some notes of citrus, like an orange, as well as raisins.

Taste

The taste is quite potent. Immediately you’re hit with oak and sherry, which I find to be the prominent flavors, but there’s also a tangy zip to this rum that’s hard to describe. I want to describe it like the tang of orange soda, but without the flavor of orange. It’s not particularly fruity, I am moreso getting more subtle notes of vanilla and honey. I have not yet looked this up, but my guess is that it was aged in red wine or sherry casks (I do every tasting before looking up information on the rum to not bias my tasting in the direction of what I am expecting based on the info provided). It is quite mellow and pleasant to sip on. It’s sweet, and doesn’t burn much at all.

I am not sure that this sort of rum goes in a daiquiri, but I wasn’t sure what other cocktail works better. Anyway, it does make for an interesting daiquiri. It’s oakier than I prefer, but the deep flavors in the rum are fun and enjoyable. I notice that this daiquiri is very tannic— it feels like a daiquiri with a touch of aged cabernet in it.

Verdict 6.5/10

(Edited from 6/10 on 1/3/26)

(Edited from 7.5/10 on 1/3/26)

I think that, overall, I would describe this rum as an aged Spanish column still rum with a splash of sweet sherry. I don’t know what cocktails I could put this in, as it has a pretty unique flavor, but sipping it neat is definitely a nice experience. In fact, this is my favorite Spanish-style rum, and I am rating it as such. 7.5/10, on par with some middle-of-the-road Jamaican rums! It tasted very oaky and tannic, which may be a bit of an acquired taste, but the richness and complexity was unlike any other rum I’ve had so far.

That said, even though I thought that this rum was good, there’s also the question of value. There’s other rums that I would rather sip neat, and which are more versatile for cocktails, that are less than half the price of this rum. This rum is good, but not $50 good. Appleton Estates Signature is about equally enjoyable, and far better for mixing (for very different reasons and flavor profiles, but still…), and 1.75L of it goes for $32. I don’t think that I will be buying Zacapa 23 again, unless it goes on a steep discount.

January 3, 2026 Update:

Not much more to add, I am just amending the score down to a 6 to reflect my new scoring system.

March 9, 2026 Update:

I feel like I underrated it. The deep richness is better than what most Spanish-style rums can provide. I am bumping it up to 6.5/10