In the case of Santa Teresa 1796, each bottle is a blend of rums ranging in age from 35 years to 5 years. The older rums, however, are only a small proportion of the overall blend. That’s not true for all countries, however. The definition of an age statement can vary significantly. In some places, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia the Dominican Republic, for example, the age statement can reflect the average age of the blend rather than its youngest component. That definition can bring the stated age statement more in line with the average age of a solera’s contents. Santa Teresa is the first rum producer in Venezuela, originating from the valley of Aragua, its story started as a sugar cane plantation in 1796 and remains to this day as a family-owned business. Santa Teresa rums have been produced at Hacienda Santa Teresa for more than two centuries and are now present in more than 40 countries. Registered in 1909, the Santa Teresa brand boasts the title of Venezuela's very first rum trademark – as well as proudly carrying the "Ron de Venezuela" (Rum of Venezuela) DOC label.

The finish is long, smooth, sweet, with dried fruit notes, some caramel and a lingering sweet pepperiness. Soleras are a way of maintaining consistency across an expression since each bottling represents a blend of all of the previous liquids produced, although the average age of the blend will be heavily weighted toward the younger components.The sherry intended for bottling is drawn from the lowest tier. In theory, this is about a quarter to a third of the barrel contents at any one time. Each producer, however, is free to manage the solera as they choose. Each tier corresponds to a specific age. The contents, however, are a blend of all the liquids that have passed through each criadera. As the sherry moves down through the different criaderas the average age increases. The stated age of the solera corresponds to the date the solera was started, i.e., the oldest portion of the sherry in the blend. The older the solera, the tinier the amount of the original sherry that is still retained. A solera is a system of fractional blending that originated in the sherry producing zone of Andalucía. In a sherry solera, the liquid is moved through a tier of barrels where a portion is mixed with previously aged sherry. Each tier is called a criadera (cradle). The bottom tier is called the solera. The term solera is also used to describe the entire process. Crafted with whisky aficionados in mind, Santa Teresa 1796 Speyside Cask Finish delivers a familiar yet enticingly distinct flavor profile compared to our flagship rum, featuring a sweet yet smoky aroma and flavor profile for an enticing yet familiar sipping occasion. As contents are drawn off, the sherry is replaced with sherry from the next highest tier in the solera and so forth. When sherry from the highest tier (the youngest) is drawn off it is replaced with newly produced sherry.

So how does one even become a maestro ronero at one of the world’s oldest rum brands? Again, it’s all about time. Duarte joined Santa Teresa in 1990, and has spent years developing her craft. She’s now the fifth-ever person to hold the position in the company’s 226 years of existence. She likens becoming a master blender to aging a cask of rum itself. The color is a rich, dark amber with a pronounced orange-brown hue. On the nose, there is a distinctive aroma of molasses and brown sugar that gives way to a caramel sweetness, along with hints of cooked apple, some coffee notes, a touch of banana and a bit of melon. Registered in 1909, the Santa Teresa brand boasts the title of Venezuela’s very first rum trademark – as well as proudly carrying the “Ron de Venezuela” (Rum of Venezuela) DOC label. Crafted withwhisky aficionados in mind, Santa Teresa 1796 Speyside Cask Finish delivers a familiar yet enticingly distinct flavor profile compared to our flagship rum, featuring a sweet yet smoky aroma and flavor profile for an enticing yet familiar sipping occasion. The barrels were first filled in 1992, and since then the Solera casks have never been fully emptied. As with Sherry from Jerez, Spain, each time a bottle is drawn, the Solera is topped up with a slightly younger rum blend, meaning that each final bottle has a balance of the ‘Ron Madre’ or Mother Rum blended with the flavour profile of younger expressions.

Inspired by bothVenezuela and the Scottish Highlands, Santa Teresa 1796 Speyside Whisky Cask Finish has been crafted using a rare 13-month finishing process in casks previously used forSpeyside Whisky. This distinctive approach sets it apart as one the of the world's only rums to be made this way. Its extended maturation, in conjunction with Santa Teresa 1796's signatureSolera Method, renownedfor its use in sherryproduction, results in a drier, more balanced flavor. As the original cask isnever emptied, this process ensuresthat every bottle carries echoesof the very first 1796 cask. The issue is twofold. The application of an age statement to solera aging is difficult because it depends on how the solera is managed, varies by jurisdiction and is often inconsistent. The older the Solera the greater the difference between its age and the average age of its contents. This issue is made even more complicated by the fact that the definition of age statements also varies by jurisdiction. Some critics condemn the practice and believe it detracts from the rum adding an artificial quality. Others see nothing wrong with it. I’m in the latter camp, although I wish, for the sake of transparency, that producers disclosed the practice and the dosage. The practice can be controversial, however, because there are no firm rules on how a solera is operated. Critics of the practice have argued that Latin American rum producers, the area where the practice is most prevalent, do not follow a true, sherry style solera system but are really just producing a blend consisting of rums with different ages.