Rating: 
Zaya Gran Reserva Rum
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from Internet Wines and Spirits
Never has a rum looked more dignified. The bottle is tall and elegently marked with its black and gold label. The neck is tightly wrapped in palm, which contrasts beautifully with the rich mahogany, 12 year aged, pure sugarcane rum within. The bottle itself is extra thick, and the additional heft this creates only further lends the impression that this is a rum worthy of note.
Upon removing the cork, the rum itself smells heavy and sweet, and tastes the same. It’s full of contradiction, weighty and aloof, yet surprisingly forward. It’s kind of like meeting a dusky tribal queen dressed from head to toe in rich silks and golden feathers, and when you reach out to politely kiss her hand she instead sits on your lap and liplocks you in front of your bewildered crew. Yeah – something like that.
Projecting a sensation that’s massive yet graceful, this rum receives full marks. Each sip is soothing, warm, shivers straight down the spine, and leaves behind a feeling that now would be a fine time to die happy.
Zaya has moved production to Trinidad and changed the award-winning recipe. The “new” Zaya is sickening sweet crap not worth the bottle it’s in, although they are using the same packaging. Why would anybody in their right mind, or even slightly addled, alter an exquisite rum and come up with something that tastes like a cheap liquer? Boycott the Trinidad Zaya!