Zacapa and sugar

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JaRiMi
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Zacapa and sugar

Post by JaRiMi »

I have not been a fan of this rum ever, although I must admit that in the earlier 2000s it was better than it was a few years later when the popularity boomed. Nevertheless it is heavily sugared, fairly thick rum that never really excited me much.

What is interesting is the trail of sugaring, and changes in the levels: I have a photo from Alko's selections from about 3 years back, and they had measured the sugar content to be 45grams/litre. Last year I noted that it had changed to 27 grams/litre, and now the latest batch seems to have been tested, and it clocks at 20 grams /litre. ???

A) The "art" of master (sugar) blender is not an exact science - sugar is added according to whatever taste/measurement batch by batch.

B) They have deliberately dropped the sugar levels.

C) Sugar is getting scarce.

Go figure...especially since they never add any sugar in the first place :-)
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Post by sleepy »

Regardless, sugar is THE way to fake an "elite" rum from mediocre leavings. Zacapa has no graces in my eye, Zaya, with as much, or more, sugar plus vanilla is actually a nice liqueur - just not a rum!

I guess I'm going hard core - mostly sipping Smith & Cross diluted to 40% - wonderful aroma, no sticky after-coating that I've even been getting from Seale's - nature of rum, I guess! (...and the transitory state of individual palates!)
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schlimmerdurst
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Post by schlimmerdurst »

"Go figure..."

I'd be very interested in the reason for the reduction, but can't really guess what it might be.

They already removed the "años" word from their product, which was a good thing. Could it be that they're trying to say goodbye to the Dark Side of the Rum Force? Step by step?
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

schlimmerdurst wrote:"Go figure..."

I'd be very interested in the reason for the reduction, but can't really guess what it might be.

They already removed the "años" word from their product, which was a good thing. Could it be that they're trying to say goodbye to the Dark Side of the Rum Force? Step by step?
No, JaRiMi and I were quite active insofar as going after what was promoted as "The Best Rum Rum in the World" as seeming way over the top, sugarwise. Back then we had no tests beyond our good senses and palate. It was a huge battle, strongly rejected by the MOR and its monkey minions.

This was in the days when the Shillery was dominant and the Preacher's "...it's all good" mantra.

They knew full well their concoction wasn't 23 years old, and even the claim of a 23 year solera was dubious (as all soleras get older each year, with very little difference in average age which is about 7 years). And to many, this is more a blending scheme than a real solera in the traditional sense.

So if you are asking if heavily subsidized and giant Diageo has seen the light and found God, my answer is not hardly. BTW, the outing of Zacapa was infectious and seemingly effective - they stopped entering it in "competitions". And they did nothing at all until the actual test results came out showing sugar levels of over 40g of sugar per liter: a liqueur if there ever was one.

My guess is that they remain convinced that sugaring is necessary, but reduced it to a level they felt they could get away with, in line with say Plantation or some of the El Dorados (which were previously not sugared). There is also the issue of artificial sweeteners which may evade testing (another subject, another day).

Honor among thieves might be one way to look at it, and forced screaming every step of the way...
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Post by cyril »

when you watch closely te lab results for Zacapa and others, there's smg interesting to note :

in the "total sugar" elements you find mainly saccharose and then some fructose and glucose. here is an example for Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva :
total sugar: 44,1
fructose 7,8
glucose 7,2
saccharose: 26,7
maltose: 0,15

That fructose/glucose/saccharose combination is almost always the same (mainly saccharose and then some glucose/fructose)

except with Zacapa :

total sugar: 20,3
fructose: 10,4
glucose: 10,9
saccharose : < 0,05
glycérol: 0,2

that difference (and the lack of saccharose) may allows Zacapa, with 'just' 20g of total sugar and mainly fructose/glucose without anny saccharose, to be sweetened as much as Diplomatico (with 44g of sugar and mianly saccharose). My 2 cents is they are still sweetening their rums the same way they used to do it, but they hiding it somewhere else... :roll: , and they make it impossible for us to find out with the hydrometer test

Botran do the same. i think they may bee smarter than others
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schlimmerdurst
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Post by schlimmerdurst »

They might be using saccharin or aspartame... :P Diet rum! Might be a new way to market rum to the "skinny bitches". Zacapa Stevia.

Hm. To get back to earnest: It's a shame that producers have already cheated so badly that we can't even trust low measurement tests anymore.

How would you go on if someone found a way to sweeten rum without it showing on a hydrometer test? Will producers really go so far to look for other sweetening methods instead of finding a way to market their rum without additives? Is rum business really THAT rogue?
Last edited by schlimmerdurst on Fri Sep 04, 2015 12:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by The Fat Rum Pirate »

I fancy they will be using Glycerine. (I'm looking to order some and then conduct some tests to see how little of it is needed to alter rum)

I found Zacapa 23 to be a lot less sweet than DRE or ED12 (more akin to the 15) but nevertheless was still pretty sickly.

My last bottle ended up as a pint of rum and cola mixer
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schlimmerdurst
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Post by schlimmerdurst »

"My last bottle ended up as a pint of rum and cola mixer"

I'm not that far yet to chuck my bottle of Zacapa 23 out as quickly as possible. I also use it as a mixer now (when I bought it, and wasn't in the know, I coveted it as sipper), but for cocktails which need a "sweet kick" - and I reduce the simple syrup amount, if required.

But sipping it is out of question now, you're right.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

"...that difference (and the lack of saccharose) may allows Zacapa, with 'just' 20g of total sugar and mainly fructose/glucose without anny saccharose, to be sweetened as much as Diplomatico (with 44g of sugar and mianly saccharose). My 2 cents is they are still sweetening their rums the same way they used to do it, but they hiding it somewhere else... Rolling Eyes , and they make it impossible for us to find out with the hydrometer test ..."
Great post Cyril - brilliant truly - and I think you getting to what's actually happening. Let's walk this through.


Background:

We are exploring the addition of sucrose (sugar), glucose (corn syrup) and fructose (fruit sugars).

Sucrose (the cane sugar we think of) is a disaccharide (two molecules). Fructose is a monosaccharide (single molecule) that reported to be about 1.8x sweeter than sugar. Glucose (corn syrup) is not particularly sweet by itself, but when combined with free fructose (in the form of the very commonly used "high fructose corn syrup"), the combination becomes - yup - VERY sweet, again approximately 1.8x sweeter.

Now let's apply this, per Cyril:

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva :
  • total sugar: 44,1
    fructose 7,8
    glucose 7,2
    saccharose: 26,7
In terms of cane sugar we have:
26.7 + (7.8 + 7.2) x 1.8 = 26.7 + 27 = 53.7 g/L sugar equivalent


Zacapa :
  • total sugar: 20,3
    fructose: 10,4
    glucose: 10,9
    saccharose : < 0,05
In terms of cane sugar we have: (10.4 + 10.9) x 1.8 + .05 = 38.4 + .05 = 38.5 g/L sugar equivalent



Flat Ass Bottom Line

Zacapa's switch to fructose/glucose in combination (high fructose corn syrup) - for all practical purposes - is barely a change at all from its former use of cane sugar. Prior to this change Zacapa was tested at 41g of what was surely cane sugar. By switching to high fructose cane syrup, this still provides the equivalent of 39g of cane sugar, ie no real change at all. This also brings understanding to JaRiMi's observation that the Z-boyz first went to 27g (which if also HFCS), which would be the equivalent of 48.6g - too sweet.

Ergo the change to 21.3g of HFCS, equivalent to 38g (near their original sweetness of 41g/L, no real change at all ). It appears the focus on sugar will force the cheaters to change to high fructose corn syrup, another slap in the face to the Caribbean.

Sweet...
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schlimmerdurst
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Post by schlimmerdurst »

Are there measurements which show the saccharose/fructose ratio BEFORE the reduction in sugar of Zacapa?



*******
Capn's Log: Cyril? Any idea?
cyril
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Post by cyril »

my sample came from a recent bottle, but that would be very intersting to send a lab a sample of the old bottling, for sure
JaRiMi
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Post by JaRiMi »

I have some older bottlings of Z available for a sample, if needed.

A 2007 summer Alko listing says that Zacapa 23 anos (then they still used that age statement) has been measured to contain 45G/litre of sugar.

By the way, since the manufacturers have a history of changing the amounts of sugar in their products, it would perhaps be helpful if the sugar testing list contained also the year of the bottling / information (like the Alko list date). Food for thought...
Last edited by JaRiMi on Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Super! I think it is essential to find a way to test JaRiMi's oldies, as I'd bet my underwear they are mostly altered with sucrose. Why? There's no way they'd have used double the fructose/glucose they now use...
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Post by cyril »

i have some samples of old bottles too, but the lab needs 10cl, and i have like 6cl of them :/
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Post by AK9 »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink ... g-rum.html

I am really considering subscribing and adding a comment. It is ridiculous how much the sweetened rums are being advertised.
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