by Yiannis Valavanis

An evening with friends and Zino Davidoff cigars requires the right rum. And since the homeland of Davidoff cigars is the Dominican Republic, we will choose the right rum, Ron Matusalem Gran Reserva 23 Solera Blender, cigar y ron hecho a Dominicana.

But there is one issue to be settled if we want to be fair. Matusalem as a name and as a rum before the revolution of Cuba, in 1960, was a product of the city of Santiago de Cuba with year of foundation in 1872, as it is written on the bottle, by two brothers. After the revolution came the nationalization of everything and the decline and dissolution of the distillery. The re-creation of the brand was done by one of the grandsons of the founders about 20 years ago, if I am not mistaken, with rums from the Dominican Republic, and bottled in the USA, since the company does not have its own distilleries. As well as the other expelled from Cuba, Don Facundo Bacardi Masso, with the difference that Bacardi produces and bottles in the Dominican Republic.

But let’s leave the historical details and let’s move on to this. Rich color and aroma from the aging oak barrels and later a bunch of aromas and flavors of spices, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnut but also a strong taste of smoke and caramel. All this, of course, comes from the aging process, called Solera, in which barrels with older spirits are mixed with a specific process and with a specific time limit in order to have this excellent spirit. Hence the 23 written on the bottle which does not indicate years but aging through the Solera system according to the blending and aging plan.

This is an excellent product, with a long aftertaste, without leaving an aftertaste like some other similar products when paired with a cigar and with a rating of 9.5/10 I highly recommend it to all Caribbean Ron lovers and beyond.