We’re not sure how we’ve missed Santa Teresa 1796 over the years. Santa in Spanish means saint and Teresa (properly spelled without the h) is Terry’s given name. Now Terry, by her own admission, is no saint but a rum carrying the proper spelling of her given name is a rum worth trying.
Ron Santa Teresa, founded in 1796, is Venezuela’s oldest registered rum distillery. Situated in the mountainous Aragua Valley, the Hacienda Santa Teresa cultivated wheat, indigo, coffee and sugar cane along with a small rum production. In 1881 the property was acquired by German Gustav Julius Vollmer and his Venezuelan wife Panchita Ribas. Vollmer installed a copper still brought from Cologne, Germany, to manufacture and sell rum on a larger scale. In 1909, Vollmer registered the distillery as Ron Santa Teresa, the first rum brand in the country. Today the company is operated by a fourth generation Vollmer, Alberto Vollmer.
Santa Teresa 1796 was released in 1996 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Hacienda. The base of this rum is molasses which after fermentation is distilled in two continuous column stills. The rum is then aged from four to 35 years in bourbon oak barrels then bottled using a true solar method. The four row system allows for younger rums to blend with the more mature rums. Ron Santa Teresa says this method “ensures every bottle of Santa Teresa 1796 has some of the very first 1796 cast running through it.” The bottle is hand dipped in red wax and presented in a tall blue cylinder.
He Said Rum Review Thoughts
Molasses and wood undertones are front and center on the nose. My palette is getting ready for a mildly sweet rum. On the palette I get fruit, floral, with just a hint of molasses. The rum initially made me cough, not from an alcohol burn, but rather from a burst of spice that I wasn’t expecting. The finish smooths out leaving a satisfying tobacco, coffee and oak mix. The palette notes remain much longer than the finish.
She Said Rum Review Thoughts
Santa Teresa has a golden amber color with very subtle lacing on the glass. A gentle sniff brings soft sweetness with floral undertones, yet when I take a long inhale the alcohol tickles the nose hairs. The immediate taste on the palate is cherry which dissipates quickly with an aggressive alcohol burn on the finish. The burn definitely goes away on subsequent sips. This rum has a good mouth feel that allows the rum to linger, giving me time to see what it has to offer. The finish is warming however, for me, the palate is really where this rum likes to linger with notes of cherry and tobacco.
Overall Rum Review Rating
We actually can’t stop sipping this rum because it feels so good on the palate. At $40/bottle, it lacks the complexity of other rums at this price point but it certainly satisfies the soul.
4.25 of 5
Sipping Rum Scale
1 – An expensive mixer
2 – A quick celebratory shot
3 – Wouldn’t be embarrassed to share with friends
4 – Are my friends worthy of a sip
5 – Special moments rum
