This is a bit of an interesting one. The only Panamanian rum that I have had is Ron Abuelo, and that’s from Varela Hermanos. Another distillery in Panama is Las Cabras, with Don Pancho as the master distiller. I’ve heard a lot about them, but I have never had the chance to actually give his rum a try until now.

Note: It says it’s aged 21 years in ex-bourbon. Everything online pours about how it’s made in the Cuban style, but I could not find any evidence that they actually age and rectify it before aging it again, so I am going to assume that it’s probably a marketing gimmick to appeal to Americans, for whom Cuban rum is this mysterious forbidden fruit.

Review

Smell: Strong and rich, with notes of vanilla and oak, but also a surprisingly harsh hit of alcohol. For instance, Zacapa 23 and Ron Abuelo XII Two Oaks are similarly rich and oaky, but with less of a harsh alcohol hit.

Taste: A little more harsh and sour than I was expecting, but it’s totally sippable. It’s harsher than Zacapa 23, but knowing that Zacapa uses glycerin to smooth itself out, this is probably to be expected. Zacapa has more of a wine and honey flavor, which I quite enjoy, while Zafra 21, while also noticably sweet, has clearly never seen a wine cask, as it’s more of the typical long-aged Spanish-style rum flavor. The finish is medium, and has the floral notes that I get a lot from Cuban rum and some of the better Dominican rums. Of course, HC Seleccion de Maestros is a lot more flavorful (and that’s just Havana Club. Imo Ron Santiago de Cuba is even better). There’s way more bold floral notes there that I feel immediately, while Zafra is more of a bold oak and vanilla that fades into these mild floral notes at the end. I would say that the rum it’s most similar to is Ron Abuelo XII Two Oaks, as they both are quite sweet and start with a bold woody taste, and finish with mild floral notes, but I would say that the vanilla and oak flavor from Ron Abuelo is stronger, and is almost smoky.

Verdict 6/10

At first I was worried if I had anything to compare Zafra 21 to, since I don’t have any other super long aged Spanish-style rums, and honestly, the deep, rich, smoky, complex notes of El Dorado 21 just sort of blew it away. But interestingly, Zacapa 23, HC Seleccion de Maestros, and Ron Abuelo XII Two Oaks turned out to be very comparable. And Zafra 21 just sort of comes close to all of them, but just a bit short. It is not quite as rich in wine and honey flavor as Zacapa, it’s not as floral as an actual Cuban rum, and it’s not as oaky and vanilla-rich and smoky as Abuelo XII. But it’s close. All of those are 6.5/10 rums, so before giving it a 6/10, I tried one last test: how does it compare to Havana Club 7Yr, which I gave a 6/10? Well, it is definitely smoother and oakier, and they share the same weird sourness, but Havana Club 7Yr just is a nicer, lighter, slightly more floral rum, so I feel confident in making it a tie. 6/10 it is.