Botran and Zacapa rums start from
sugarcane from the Tululá Sugar Mill, grown in the volcanic soil of Guatemala. The sugarcane matures in its second year, at which point the field is burned to burn off the leaves of the plants. and distilled in multi-column stills, producing a light, neutral aguardiente, typical of
Spanish-style rum production. The stills have taps at different intervals, allowing the produced rum to come from higher taps, producing lighter, cleaner, stronger spirit, or from lower taps, allowing for a more flavorful spirit. All Zacapa rums are aged in the "dynamic solera" style, inspired by
solera wine aging, where the rum does not have a distinct age, but rather, new rum is added to old rum and blended in a series of casks. The freshly distilled aguardiente is diluted to 60% ABV before the aging process begins. all
American white oak, and sometimes cognac barrels, made of
French oak, which significantly slows
loss to evaporation compared to tropical aging. Rum experts have accused Zacapa of being misleading in their labeling, suggesting that the large 23 on the bottle is likely to mislead consumers into believing that the rum is aged for 23 years. However, the rum is actually a blend ranging from 6 to 23 years, mostly skewed towards the younger end, and disguised with added sugar. In 2021, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Diageo, claiming that consumers were fooled into believing that Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 was aged for 23 years. Likewise, maturation in cool, moist climates significantly slows down the aging process, resulting in a product more comparable to a rum aged for a shorter length of time in a tropical climate. However, independent testing has confirmed that the sugar levels are nearly 20g/L. ==Products==