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Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:09 pm
by Count Silvio
Read full review on the frontpage of Refined Vices.
Count Silvio wrote:Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera was launched in 1996 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Hacienda Santa Teresa. The bottle is packed inside a blue cardboard tube decorated with a red ribbon and a red plastic seal that reads 1796. The bottle itself is tall and elegant sealed with red wax going all the way from over the cork down to the neck. Around the neck is a booklet, which, on this particular bottle, is written entirely in Spanish as are the old looking labels on the bottle which have the same descriptions as the booklet.
As one might guess from the name and the descriptions, Santa Teresa uses an aging process called the solera method.
Hacienda Santa Teresa is the first and one of the few distilleries to make use of this unique aging method to age rum today. The solera method was used for aging sherry in the mid 19th century, though it is believed it was developed sometime before then. The idea behind the process is for the rum to take different characteristics from older rums.
This one I almost gave a gold award, but it didn't quite keep me captivated enough for some reason. A tough decision but it is still one of my current favorites. This time I also noticed a lack of roasted nuts that I first got when I sampled it when I received the bottle. I also tried to contact the distillery regarding the true age of the rums used but they have not replied.
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:33 am
by AngelSword
I find this rum to be near the pinnacle of classic style. Nothing unusual except extreme quality.
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 6:15 am
by Dood
Great review, Count!
I'll have to find a bottle of this for myself.
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:10 am
by paulipbartender
Good review Silvio.
We had Santat Teresa in the office just before xmas who gave us a wonderful 2 hour presentation on the Santa Teresa range. I've just texted them to see if they would send me a copy of their powerpoint presentation, which I thought you might like to see....
I agree with you on the 1796 - there is something lacking that prevents me putting it in the very top tier of rums, nice though it is. Their range is very interesting and when ST were here they were giving us samples straight off the stills which was fascinating. ST also produce a liqueur called Araku - named after the native Venezualan people. It's a rum based coffee liqueur that only uses the finest arabica beans - and it's wonderful!
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:29 am
by paulipbartender
Just been told I should be able to email you a powerpoint pres with loads of pics from the distillery at ST etc soon
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:02 pm
by Count Silvio
Sounds very interesting Paul. I'll be looking forward to your email.
AngelSword wrote:I find this rum to be near the pinnacle of classic style. Nothing unusual except extreme quality.
Would you care to elaborate 'classic style'?
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:36 am
by Scottes
paulipbartender wrote:I agree with you on the 1796 - there is something lacking that prevents me putting it in the very top tier of rums, nice though it is.
I concur. But I have to re-visit it, since I was very excited and it let me know. Now that I'm not so excited over it maybe it will show it's true colors.
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:17 am
by Dacaqa Fe Noyetuxuhe
Dood wrote:Great review, Count!
I'll have to find a bottle of this for myself.
same.
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:15 am
by AngelSword
Count Silvio wrote:Sounds very interesting Paul. I'll be looking forward to your email.
AngelSword wrote:I find this rum to be near the pinnacle of classic style. Nothing unusual except extreme quality.
Would you care to elaborate 'classic style'?
There are a wide variety of special techniques that one can use to set a rum apart: extra heads and /or tails, dunder, wash added back after distilling, special stills, back blending, caramel, vanilla, special casks, wood roasting, other flavorings, heat, more tricks than most folks can imagine. Santa Teresa simply uses the heart of the distillate in an oak cask. This is the classic.
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:28 pm
by Count Silvio
Paul just e-mailed me the presentation and other info which you can find at the
IPB website. Very interesting presentation and a lot of information I did not know about Santa Teresa such as the intriguing method of growing vines around the aging cellars to prevent evaporation.
Greatly appreciated Paul!
Re: Review: Santa Teresa 1796 Ron Antiguo de Solera
Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:32 pm
by paulipbartender
Thank the chaps at Santa Teresa. Their brand ambassador team in the UK headed up by an exceptional bartender called Jim Wrigley are brilliant and full of information. As I said on MOR - I wish all producers in all categories were as free with information