Name: Zafra Master Reserve
Type: Rum
Origin: Panama
ABV: 40%
Price: $49.99 at Binny’s Beverage Depot
Sample provided by Villiger Cigars
This week I wanted to catch up on a rum review that I have left pending in limbo the last two months. If you remember from my review of the La Ylor De Ynclan, I referenced the Zafra rum that came from the care package via Villiger Cigars. The Zafra Master Reserve comes via Master Blender Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez, who has spent 40+ years perfecting his craft.
I took this bottle to a recent music rehearsal with the stipulation that the guys leave me enough to do a worthy review of it. And they did exactly that – just enough.
The color on this rum has a rich, dark hue to it. The nose on this spirit gives me hints of butterscotch, brown sugar and bourbon, with the bourbon notes making sense as the rum is aged in used bourbon barrels. The first taste gives me notes toffee, sweet sugar, vanilla and hints of bourbon. Thinking about other rums that I have owned and/or tasted (Zaya, Samaroli, Matusalem), this is one that I would consider the sweetest of the bunch. Continued samples highlight the sweetness and toffee over any of the other flavors. If you are a fan of sweeter rum, the Zafra Master Reserve will fit the bill for you without a problem.
As for pairing it with a cigar, because of the stronger sweeter and toffee notes, I lean towards full bodied cigars to help counter balance the flavors. I’ve smoked this a number of varying full bodied and medium-to-full bodied cigars and they all balanced the sweet flavors from the rum rather well. And you can certainly smoke a medium or mild cigar with this as well but expect the cigar to play second fiddle to the flavors of the rum. I think at the end of the day, any cigar with this rum will work fine.
In terms of reception from others that I have shared it with, including the gents from my music rehearsal, my sentiments from above were echoed: Tasty with a nice complement of flavors, although it leans on the sweeter side. It isn’t my first choice of rum when I certainly won’t turn a glass down when and where I can find it.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Thank you so much for Villiger Cigars for the opportunity to try this rum. As as always, thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.
