Review: Because You Need Santa Teresa’s 1796 Solera Rum In Your Life
By Matt Birchard
I’ve been making an effort this year to drink more. The global pandemic and stay at home orders have certainly helped. Plus, I work from home and I’m basically my own boss, so day drinking hasn’t yet run me afoul of the HR department. I know I’m lucky to remain gainfully employed and healthy amidst the current chaos.
Santa Teresa 1796 Solera Rum could masquerade on the shelf as a high-end whiskey due to the packaging. It portrays its premium via a light blue tube with a closure strap, containing a bespoke bottle with a hand-finished waxed topper. The spirit’s color is all-natural, picked up from the extensive aging in used American oak bourbon barrels among others. The 1796 is made with a Solera process, which is an aging and blending method traditionally used in brandy and sherry production. It involves a series of stacked barrels, creating a staged maturation process of the spirits. Younger spirits are at the top, older at the bottom, and as spirits are drawn from the bottom barrels for bottling they’re never fully emptied before being refilled with spirits from the barrels above. The new spirit is filled to the top flight of barrels. It creates a perpetual system that helps maintain consistency and reliability in the product.
Santa Teresa is a Venezuelan rum brand, and the 1796 was created in 1996 to mark the bicentennial of the estate, or Hacienda, it’s produced on. Only the 1796 is available in the United States, thanks to a distribution deal with Bacardi. And I’m thankful this distribution deal brought me this excellent rum. It’s of exceptional quality and age, the blend uses three styles of distillation and aging methods, aged for 4 to 35 years before entering the Solera system. The resulting spirit once bottled deserves to be sipped neat. The nose offers some hits of fruit and wood once you pass the alcohol vapors. It drinks very smooth, but with flavors of earthy wood and leather hints, paired with some peppery spice and a lovely tobacco finish.
My introduction to 1796 was as part of a rum flight at The Rum Club in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. When served to me, the waiter commented that it would be perfect poured over pancakes! I’ve yet to try it. I can’t bring myself to adulterate it, and rarely even add ice. If you enjoy whiskeys and bourbons, the flavors from this sugar cane molasses-based rum are worthy of your glass. Take your time with it. If you’re inclined to enjoy a cigar with a tipple, 1796 pairs well. I’ve enjoyed many a glass on my apartment’s balcony on a mild evening, enjoying the sounds of the city.
Enjoying Santa Teresa can also make you feel all warm and fuzzy beyond the influence of the ethanol. The Hacienda in Venezuela has a social outreach program named Project Alcatraz, which since 2003 has offered an alternative path to hundreds of local gang members through work at the distillery and playing rugby. Project Alcatraz was created after four gang members robbed a distillery security guard, were caught, and were offered a workable alternative to jail time. The success of this first trial spawned the program that has been so successful, crime in the area has been greatly reduced. Not only does the social good make me feel good, but this is perhaps the only Venezuelan product I can think of that I consume. With the economic challenges in that country, my small contribution via the dollars that flow to Santa Teresa may be of more benefit to that country than some other rum producers. These benefits aside, I buy Santa Teresa 1796 because it’s an exceptional sipping rum.
At a retail price of around $45 and wide distribution through the Bacardi deal, I recommend seeking out a bottle to add to your collection.
In your glass, Santa Teresa has an amber, reddish color, picked up from the variety of aging vessels. Also, there are pronounced legs on the glass when you swirl it. The nose presents as fruit-forward, with undertones of wood, caramel, vanilla and leather. Santa Teresa really shines on the palate though. The sweetness comes first, a honey-filled molasses sweetness, but it doesn’t linger. Transitions nicely to a buttery caramel body, then a peppery spice-tinged with an alcohol burn that’s appropriate for the proof. The finish is a wonderful tobacco note that lasts.
1796 is a high caliber rum that’s worthy of your collection alongside favorite whiskeys, bourbons, brandies, cognacs, or other brown liquors. Would pair very well with a cigar you enjoy due to the tobacco finish of the spirit. Sipped neat, it doesn’t disappoint; on the rocks opens the flavors a bit and blunts the burn. Either way is fine. Knowing the history of the spirit and the social good you support via your purchase only lend to the enjoyment of this exceptionally aged rum for me. It has a permanent place in my liquor cabinet, replenished as I empty each bottle.
- Appearance: 13/15 points
- Nose: 22/25 points
- Palate/Taste: 33/35 points
- Finish: 25/25 points
- Total Score: 93
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Matt Birchard is a Portland native who hosts the Liquor and Liqueur Connoisseur Podcast, a show dedicated to drinking, discussing, and discovering the world of distilled spirits. Check his latest episode where he deep dives on the Santa Teresa 1796 Solera Rum and much more.
