Santa Teresa Ron Antiguo De Solera 1796 Rum

The Ron Santa Theresa 1796 Antigua de Solero is a Venezuelan rum which can trace its ancestry back to the year of 1796 when the Santa Theresa Hacienda was created. It was of course, 200 years later that the Ron Santa Theresa 1796 was created to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Hacienda. This is a true Solero rum with 4 rows of aging barrels set one atop each other. As the rum ages, a portion of the rum moves through each row until it reaches the final solero row at the bottom years later. The barrels are not emptied fully and only a portion of the rum from the previous or higher row is moved to the lower row each time. According to the Santa Theresa website, a portion of the rum reaches an age approximating 25 years before bottling.

The dark fruity flavors combined with the butterscotch and the caramel flavors of the rum are very good. Along with the exotic wine flavors are tart orange peel and fresh overripe banana. Lots of baking spices cover the palate including vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon.There are even a few notes of chocolate and tobacco mixed in. Of course, over top of all of these flavors are the regular rummy caramel and toffee flavors we love.
The rum has a lot of complexity as it reaches the finale. Oak spices, dark fruit, layers of chocolate and rich butterscotch swirl and compete for attention as the rum hits the back of my throat; but somehow  balance is never quite achieved.