The other night I stumbled into my local liquor store with absolutely no idea what I was in the mood for. But like a Japanese businessman I wanted the most amount of fun for the least amount of money. In other words, I was looking for a deal. I walked past the bourbon and eyed the Makers mark for a moment. “That won’t do at all,” I (The little Japanese businessman) thought. “I’m in the mood for something exotic. Something lIke underwear from a vending machine.” With this in mind, I kept moving until I saw it sitting on the second shelf next to the Santa Teresa. The Crazy Kirpal deal of the week.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but the owner of Spring Hill Liquors is a marketing genius. Whenever he gets a new “premium,” alcohol in stock, the first thing he does is mark it 50% off. This of course entices people like me with an adventurous spirit and a limited budget to try it. This is how I’ve discovered most of my great finds like Bulldog Gin. In this case it was Zaya Gran Reserva 12-year-old rum.
Zaya is a 12-year-old rum from Trinidad. It normally cost $47.99, but that night I picked it up for $23. I’m not sure if I’d pay full price for it on a regular basis, but it was damn well worth the $23 I did pay. This stuff tastes great. Not quite Pyrat XO, but but definitely worth going in on halvesies with your friends. It has a clean taste and the next morning I didn’t even have the slightest inkling of a hangover even after drinking more than half a bottle the night before. I did find it here for about $30.
Popularity: 3% [?]
December 19th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Now isn’t this strange. Your bottle of Zaya says Trinidad but my bottle of Zaya says Guatemala. Bottles and labeling look exactly similar except for the country of origin.
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Zaya used to be made in Guatemala, but the entire operation has reportedly now been relocated to Trinidad. Those who have tasted both the Guatemalan rum and the Trinidad rum say that they are very similar, but not exactly the same. Bottling remains the same, except for Trinidad instead of Guatemala on the label. I don’t care where it is made, this is EXCELLENT rum as long as the rummaker ahd his recipe remain the same, which reportedly it has.