Sit at the table, after a good meal, sip a glass of rum and chat with friends, perhaps listening to some good music in the background. The Spaniards, masters of the enjoyment of life, have a word that sums up all this: “Sobremesa”.
A word that literally means “above the table”, and that indicates precisely that moment of slowness, pleasure and conviviality. The one in which anyone, at least once, has built up memories, laughter, friendships, discussions. Anyone including chef Carlo Cracco, who lends his face to the new Zacapa campaign – premium rum from Guatemala – dedicated precisely to the Sobremesa.
“The choice to rely on the institutional but also” family “face of Carlo Cracco was natural, for the sharing of values similar to the Zacapa universe, such as the enormous attention to raw materials and the product and the respect and celebration of tradition but always in a revolutionary way », declared Úrsula Mejía Melgar, Marketing Director Diageo Southern Europe.
Immortalized with his partner Rosa and some friends at the end of a lunch, between an anecdote about past travels and a sip of rum combined with a praline, the chef identified himself with the timeless experience of the Sobremesa. “Going to a restaurant or more generally sharing a meal is in my opinion one of the highest forms of socializing”, explains the chef, one of the best known and most popular faces of Italian fine dining. “I am therefore really happy with this first step undertaken with Zacapa in order to introduce the Sobremesa, a ritual that is naturally part of our DNA and our culture, in the Italian scenario and to add my personal touch to this experience”.
Zacapa: a story of time and femininity
A ritual created to give value to sociality and time, which is a key factor for Zacapa, which ages its rum for many years at 2,300 meters high on the Quetzaltenango plateaus, between mountains of volcanic origin. Here, in a magical place poised between past and future, Zacapa rum collects the legacy of a millenary land, and builds a precious and refined product made of deep aromas, rich colors and strong flavors.
Thus, since 1976 one of the finest rums in the world has been made, created precisely to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city of Zacapa, in Guatemala. A rum that embodies its excellence in a careful, original and original production process: a process that gives value to raw materials, but also to time, and to the place where the production is born. The South of Guatemala, thanks to its volcanic soil rich in minerals and the numerous rivers that feed the area, is perfect for developing the distinctive characteristics and taste profile of Zacapa, right from the start of the process, with the use of the first pressing. of virgin sugar cane, which replaces the much more common molasses. Then, there is the fermentation, which is carried out with a strain of yeast derived from pineapple, particularly aromatic and the distillation, the last step before the rum rests in its “House above the Clouds”, aged delicately by the fresh air of mountain.
Part of the credit for this extraordinary achievement goes to Lorena Vásquez, one of the few female master blenders in the world of spirits. Master Blender from Zacapa for over 35 years, Lorena Vásquez is one of the few leading women in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Her job is to find the right characteristics to produce a very high quality rum, thanks to her absolute knowledge of the sector, and thanks to the use of the best ingredients of Guatemala.
Zacapa 23 and Zacapa XO
Lorena Vásquez’s experience is what makes it so special, for example, Zacapa 23a blend of rums aged between 6 and 23 years with the traditional Solera method, which blends older and younger rums in select barrels that have previously aged robust American whiskeys, delicate sherries and fine Pedro Ximénez wines. The result is a soft and balanced rum, ideal to be served neat, with ice or mixed in a cocktail.
Great protagonist of Sobremesa (to drink straight, with ice or in a cocktail, perhaps paired with dark chocolate) is also Zacapa XOthe result of an exclusive blend of reserve rum, aged between 10 and 25 years, also with the Solera method. What makes it even more special is the last step, the finishing in French oak barrels that previously aged Cognac.
Source: Vanity Fair
