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CIGARS

Exceptional Rum

Ron Zacapa, a rum above the clouds

“If there isn’t any rum in paradise, I’m not in a delicate sherry and the last in subtle Pedro
going” said Mark Twain. He may have had Ximenez wines. The following step involves
to forgo this heavenly indulgence but what’s blending several rums that have aged for any-
the bet that he refused to abandon the very thing between 6 to 25 years. This results in a
best alternative here on earth? We’re talking range of varieties that are then bottled. To create
about Zacapa Rum. The history of this pres- the Zacapa XO, a further ageing is required,
tigious drink reads like an exotic Chinese
poem, even though it hails from Guatamala. again in oak casks but this time suffused with
It is created in the heart of Mayan territory flavours of full-bodied French cognac.
from pure cane-sugar honey in the Maison Ron Zacapa is part of the Diageo brand, a British
Au-Dessus de Nuages (House above the company well-known for its other prestigious
Clouds). And nothing else. labels: Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys,
Captain Morgan, J&B and Tanqueray.
“Virgin cane-sugar honey” is the term given to
the very best quality cane sugar available. The www.zacaparum.com Pierre Talmay
cane is cultivated on extremely fertile volcanic
ground. Only the pure extract from the first
cold press is used in the fermentation of the
various Zacapa rums. At an altitude of 2300m
they then slowly age in the famous Maison Au-
Dessus des Nuages by means of the Sistema
Solera, a process which employs a succession
of oak casks, the first of which have been pre-
viously steeped in a robust Bourbon, the second

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