Rum
Ron Zacapa XO
Ron Zacapa XO is a rum from Zacapa. It is matured in American whiskey, Sherry and Pedro Ximénez casks, ex-American whiskey barrel, ex-Pedro Ximénez wine cask, ex-Sherry cask and finished in French oak ex-Cognac casks, French oak ex-Cognac cask.
- Cask
- American whiskey, Sherry and Pedro Ximénez casks, ex-American whiskey barrel, ex-Pedro Ximénez wine cask, ex-Sherry cask
- Cask finish
- French oak ex-Cognac casks, French oak ex-Cognac cask
Key facts
Maturation
- Cask
- American whiskey, Sherry and Pedro Ximénez casks, ex-American whiskey barrel, ex-Pedro Ximénez wine cask, ex-Sherry cask
- Cask finish
- French oak ex-Cognac casks, French oak ex-Cognac cask
- Maturation
- Sistema Solera; older and younger reserve rums blended while ageing through multiple cask types; component rums aged 10–25 years
How it's made
As published, Ron Zacapa XO is matured in American whiskey, Sherry and Pedro Ximénez casks, ex-American whiskey barrel, ex-Pedro Ximénez wine cask, ex-Sherry cask, with a French oak ex-Cognac casks, French oak ex-Cognac cask finish. These are the producer-disclosed production details; steps that are not published are not shown.
Understanding these terms
General explanations of the terms above — these describe the concepts, not this specific bottle.
What does cask information tell you?
The cask a rum is aged in (for example ex-bourbon or ex-sherry oak) shapes colour and flavour. WhatDrink reports the published cask information; it is a production fact, not a measure of quality.
What is a cask finish?
A cask finish is a secondary maturation in a different cask (such as sherry, port, or Cognac casks) after the primary ageing. It is a factual, published production step — separate from the primary cask.
What do maturation notes mean?
Maturation information describes how a rum is aged. A solera or blended-age statement (e.g. rums aged across a range of years) is NOT a single age statement — the oldest component age is not the age of the bottle.
Sources & provenance
- ProducerOfficial producer product pagePublished product specifications shown on this page.
- ProducerOfficial producer product pagePublished product specifications shown on this page.
About the category
About rum (category)
Rum is a spirit distilled from sugarcane products — molasses, cane syrup or fresh sugarcane juice. Under EU rules it is bottled at a minimum of 37.5% ABV, may not add flavouring, and permits only limited sweetening. This describes the rum category, not any single bottle.
Part of WhatDrink's Rum guide.