Nica Libres at Dusk – Zapatera 1996
Today I want to present a rum to you, I did not get around to write about during this year’s Tropical Month. The Zapatera Reserva 1996 was for ever on my list, but I always postponed buying it. Well, now I am glad that I did, because I might just got my hands on one of the last bottles here in Germany. Apart from that, the rum is a pleasant, not sweet sipper and makes excellent cocktails!
The Zapatera Rum comes from the Licorera de Nicaragua Compania. The company probably is most famous for their Flor de Cana rum. The distiller in Chichigalpa is located right next to a sugar factory which means that the molasses travels small distances. The Zapatera rum ages in “small” oak casks for seven years. While I would call the 200 l volume Jack Daniel’s barrels regular ones, the rum is bottled as a vintage single barrel bottling at 40 % ABV. In my case, the bottle comes from barrel number 62.
Dry molasses notes
The Zapatera Reserva 1996 shows characteristic molasses rum notes with a lot of spices. Yet, the rum is very dry and also delivers complex white wine and hazelnut flavours. Moreover, you can also find candied violets and notes reminiscent of chocolate. I enjoyed the Zapatera very much and can imagine it working in all sorts of cocktails.
Ginger and port
I had the idea for the “Nica Libres at Dusk” for a while. Basically, it was a combination of the flavours from the Dark’N’Stormy and the Continental Sour. Yet, instead of ginger beer I use a home-made honey-ginger syrup I had standing around. You probably can guess for which drink I originally made the syrup. For the port float you of course do not need a twenty-year-old Tawny. Yet, again I had to use up the remainder in the bottle.
1,5 cl Tawny Port
2,25 cl Lime Juice
1,5 cl Honey-Ginger Syrup
Shake – spray glass with Islay Whiskey – add ice – strain;
Garnish: Dried Bergamot Wheel;
Song: Ben Howard – Nica Libres at Dusk;
The drink starts off with a clear rum sour note. You get the spices from the Zapatera, but soon they are complimented by hot ginger notes. Just before the burn gets too hot, the combination of soothing honey and sweet dried fruits from the port round off the drinking experience. While the drink is complex, it is also an easy sipper. All in all, the “Nica Libres at Dusk” is an excellent way of getting rid of your leftover syrup and port.
