The master of rum
Highlands in Guatemala
In front of one of the many baroque churches in the city of Antigua Guatemala there is a small devotional shop. The most sought-after goods are hanging outside on a leash: shockingly realistic crucifixes and right next to them - chip bags. The wind, which chases the petals of the jacaranda trees over the church forecourt, beats the crucifixes against the aluminum chips of the chips. A mysterious crackle arises. Since two worlds meet.
If you want to know something about the best rum in the world, you will feel this contrast even more often. Four and a half hours drive away from the colorful tourist town of Antigua, where visitors can taste the Ron ("rum") Zacapa in every restaurant, lies Quetzaltenango. An inconspicuous place with little tourism in the highlands of Guatemala, 2300 meters above the sea. When Lorena Vasquez began her master blender job with Ron Zacapa 24 years ago, the then 30-year-old insisted that the rum be matured right here. Not in the photogenic Antigua, not in the metropolis of Guatemala, where it is bottled, not even in Zacapa, where the company was founded - but up here in the volcanic mountains. At a height where no tree grows in Europe. Lorena Vasquez had good reasons for that.
This woman just smells everything
Masterblender Lorena Vasquez is fine. She is allowed to taste rum all day long.
That this young person, a woman, was allowed to be granted was due to her exceptional talent. Already as a child, Lorena, who grew up in Nicaragua, had a very good taste for flavors. She sorted her food: What did not taste was dug up and put in the box, even if it was just a single herb leaf. Much to the annoyance of the mother. Lorena noticed when the cows that fed their daily milk had other food. And once she told a secret couple his relationship to the head: "You smell the same right."
To taste a good rum, you need a bulbous glass that holds the flavors.
But she did not consider this ability to be a special one; in her family everyone had a fine nose. Lorena, daughter of a doctor and a nurse, studied economics and food technology and then moved to his homeland with her then husband, a Guatemalan. After the divorce, she found a position in quality control by Ron Zacapa. There, her highly sensitive taste soon became apparent. And the management of Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala made an unusual decision for the patriarchal country: Lorena Vasquez was named the masterblender of Ron Zacapa, the beverage company's luxury brand. So she was responsible for the aroma, the always the same right mix and the quality of the between 40 and 120 euros expensive drink.
The interpreter, who leads through the sugar mill of the company Ron Zacapa, forms the words so delicately, as she put a chocolate candy on a silver platter: "Virgin Sugarcane Honey". This is sugarcane juice from the first pressing, called "honey" because of its thick consistency.
She decides
From this juice, sugar is first refined in the factories, and from what remains, the molasses, distilled conventional rum. The fine Zacapa, however, is not obtained from molasses, but from the original product, the sugar cane honey. Who once compared its gently artichoke, fresh taste with the bitter of molasses, understands immediately the fundamental difference. Lorena Vasquez can also feel how good the conditions under which the sugarcane has grown. When harvested in the winter on the volcanic soil fields in the tropical plain of Guatemala, it takes samples of raw juice in the sugar mill, which is also located in the lowlands. And from the high-percentage alcoholic distillate, called Wine, which is burned from the spot. Only that which is without error, comes to her in the sky: In the "House above the Clouds", the Rumlager over the clouds in Quetzaltenango. At high altitudes, the oxygen content of the air is lower and the temperature moderate in the spring, despite the tropical latitude. These factors cause Lorena Vasquez to tell her bosses at the time that the rum can mature more slowly and absorb and develop more aromas.
An Indio woman braids a ribbon of palm leaves (petate) around the rum bottle. The petate is the trademark of Ron Zacapa.
Lorena Vasquez needs this slowness for her art of completing the hymn, which consists of three elements: transfilling, grinding, waiting.
Almost daily, old oak barrels are delivered in the house above the clouds: sherry and sweet wine barrels from Spain, bourbon and whiskey barrels from the USA, cognac barrels from France. Lorena Vasquez has them restored for reuse, some flare them out.At Zacapa they use the solera method, which is also used in sherry: the rum goes through several barrels during its maturation, stacked in rows. In the top row comes the youngest rum, after some years it is transferred to the second highest row, until it arrives in the lowest row. Everywhere he meets even older rum, because the containers are never completely emptied. It absorbs aromas: vanilla, almond and fruity notes from the bourbon and whiskey barrels, coconut and caramel tones from the flamed. Spicy, woody and fruity elements from the sherry and sweet wine barrels and its typical Cognac aroma from the French.
Seagrass from the volcanic Lake Atitlán seals gaps in the old wooden containers.
Those who taste their fillings with Lorena Vasquez will most likely have identified nearly 50 flavors before sinking drunk to the ground: the Zacapa 15, the youngest rum, has green, fresh and vanilla notes that are good for mixed drinks and a fine ingredient in cooking. Deep mahogany aromas, gentle hints of nuts and fruits, the Zacapa 23, which can be rich in richness for its mildness, and dense, dark chocolate, cognac and coffee flavors can be tasted in the Zacapa XO, which is best eaten straight. The taste of a rum depends not only on how long it is stored, but also on the art of mixing, called blends, and the careful mulling of the flavors together. To make it so that the result always tastes the same is like juggling 50 balls in four dimensions: location, level, volume - and time.
When maturing, the rum passes through several barrels stacked in rows.
Lorena Vasquez never lets a ball fall. Nothing escapes her. She monitors the flames of the barrels, tastes the spring water from the volcanic mountains, with which the rum is diluted to 40 percent alcohol, checks the seaweed, with which the barrels are sealed since time immemorial. "If I'm going to be buried," she laughs, "then please in a rum barrel." That should be possible. Because Lorena Vasquez, one of the biggest master blenders in her industry, measures only 1.55 meters.
Ron Zacapa
Rum of the company Ron Zacapa is available in specialized shops and in the spirits departments of large department stores: Zacapa 15 (stored up to 15 years), 0.7 liters about 40 euros Zacapa 23 (stored up to 23 years), 0.7 liters about 60 euros Zacapa XO (stored up to 25 years), 0.7 liters about 120 euros
Rum Recipes
In the glass, good rum is an experience. But because of its rich aroma it is also great for cooking! We have translated suggestions from Lorena Vasquez into fine recipes!
Rumgrog
1 glass 2 pieces of sugar cubes, 5 cl rum
Put the sugar cubes in a large glass and fill with boiling hot water for three-quarters. Stir with a spoon until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rum and stir. Serve immediately.
Tip: So that the grog does not cool down so much by the rum: Preheat a small serving bottle of rum in a separate glass with hot water.
0 g E, 0 g F, 5 g KH, 135 kcal per glass
Ready in 5 minutes
Rum raisins and walnut ice cream
6 servings 100 g raisins, 120 ml rum, 50 g walnut kernels; 1 vanilla pod, 1/4 l of milk, 110 g of sugar, 4 egg yolks, 250 g of whipped cream
Rinse raisins and soak in the rum, preferably overnight. Chop walnuts. Cut the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the pith out with a sharp knife. Boil up milk, half of the sugar, vanilla pulp and pod and then leave covered for another 10 minutes. Beat the egg yolks and remaining sugar with the whisk of the hand mixer until frothy. Stir in hot milk. Pour the egg milk into a saucepan and heat it with a whisk over low heat until the mixture thickens (it must not boil otherwise the egg yolk will coagulate). Remove the cream from the cooking area and stir in the cold cream. Allow the mixture to cool, then place in the running ice maker and freeze for about 30 minutes. Add soaked rum raisins and walnuts after 20 minutes. Put the finished ice in a freezer box, place in the freezer and remove as needed.
Tip: It can be done faster with finished Rumrosines (for example from Schwartau).
6 g E, 24 g F, 34 g KH, 418 kcal per serving
Without waiting finished in 20 minutes
Pork tenderloin with rum mushrooms
2 portions 200 g small brown mushrooms, 1 shallot, 300 g pork tenderloin, salt, freshly ground pepper, 1 tbsp buttered lard, 150 ml rum, 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 tbsp crème fraîche, 1 pinch of sugar, possibly 1 tbsp sauces binder
Clean mushrooms, halve and possibly quarter the larger ones. Peel the shallot and finely dice. Dab pork tenderloin dry, cut into 1.5 cm thick slices and rub in with salt and pepper. Brown in hot lard on both sides. Remove meat from the cooking fat and set aside. Fry the shallots and mushrooms in hot frying fat. Add the rum and the plucked thyme leaves and bring to the boil once.Put the meat back in the pan and let it stew for about 5 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche, bring to the boil and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Maybe bind with sauce binder.
Per serving approx. 36 g E, 14 g F, 7 g KH, 445 kcal
Ready in 20 minutes
Rump steak with rum reduction and papaya salad
2 portions
Rumreduktion: 200 ml rum, 100 ml Gewürztraminer, 4 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons cane sugar; Papaya salad: 1 small firm papaya (350 g), 1 onion, 1 tbsp lime juice, sea salt, 4 stalks of cilantro; 2 rump steaks à 180 g, freshly ground black pepper, 2 tablespoons oil for frying
For rum reduction: Put the rum, wine, vinegar and cane sugar in a large saucepan and cook in the heat for about 5 minutes.
For the papaya salad: Halve the papaya, remove the seeds and soft ground meat with a teaspoon and keep the seeds for the steaks.
Scrap Papaya halves. Remove the onion, chop and add. Season with lime juice and salt. Rinse coriander, shake dry, roughly chop the leaves and add to the salad.
Season steaks with pepper and fry for 2 minutes in hot oil on each side, then fry medium. Salt.
To serve, sprinkle a few papaya seeds over the steak and the rum reduction (tastes warm and cold as well) and serve the papaya salad.
Tip: The rum reduction also goes well with grilled fish and is ideal for seasoning sauces and fine vinaigrettes.
Salmon with espresso rum sauce
2 portions
1 shallot, 2 tbsp peanut oil, 1 tbsp. Cane sugar, 50 ml strong espresso, 80 ml rum, 1? 4 chili pepper, 40 g ice-cold butter, sea salt, freshly ground pepper; 2 portions of salmon fillet à 130 g, 1 tbsp butter for frying; 1? 2 lime for garnish
Peel the shallot and finely dice. Put the oil and cane sugar in a pan and let the sugar melt. Add shallots and lightly brown (caramelise). Add espresso, rum and chopped chilli and cook the sauce.
Stir in the ice cold butter in small flakes, do not cook any more! Season with sea salt and pepper.
Rinse salmon portions, dab dry and season with salt and pepper. Fry in the hot butter.
Arrange salmon on plates and pour over the sauce. Garnish with lime wedges. In addition: long grain rice
Grilled fruits with rum cream
4 portions
rum cream: 150 g milk girl (thickened condensed milk from a can or tube), 60 ml rum, 1 vanilla pod, 2 pinch tips of ground cinnamon and nutmeg; 1? 2 fresh pineapple, 4 baby bananas, e vtl. butter
For the rum cream: Milk girl and rum in a saucepan. Slice the vanilla pod, scrape out the pith. Add vanilla pulp and scraped pods to the mixture.
All boil once bubbly. Stir cinnamon and nutmeg under the cream and allow to cool.
Peel pineapple and cut into portion pieces. Unpeeled banana cut into pieces and grill. Or fry the fruits (halves bananas lengthwise) in a grill pan in a little butter.
Remove the vanilla pod from the rum cream and serve the cream to the fruit.
Tip: Instead of the very sweet condensed milk take crème fraîche, stir with 2 tablespoons of cane sugar.
