Rum brand Ron Zacapa and Zuma restaurants have entered an exclusive partnership to create an evolving cocktail system, which has now been installed across nine Zuma restaurants worldwide — including in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Zuma said in a statement that ‘Zuma Zacapa live solera’ is the world’s first custom-designed cocktail installation, replicating Zacapa’s ‘Sistema Solera’ slow-aging process, where Zacapa rum ages in a series of pre-used oak barrels from the US.
In these installations, the Zacapa Rum slowly filters from barrel to barrel, maturing and infusing with selected flavours that season the casks.
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The rum ages for at least six weeks inside the inverted cask system, infusing with the flavours to produce the cocktail.
The end result is a bespoke cocktail, designed to appeal to the palate of a particular city.
James Shearer, bar manager, Zuma Group, added: “The Zuma Zacapa Live Solera’ enables customers to engage with the bartender — not just from a visual or emotional point of view, but to be part of the process.”
Jimmy Barrat, global bar development manager, Zuma, who was one of the creative forces behind the project, revealed: “It was really important that the local seasonings used to flavour the barrels were chosen with care and attention, to complement both the modern Japanese cuisine and luxury Zacapa rum. The makeup of the cocktail in each restaurant will be the same but the flavour will be authentic to their city. It’s an amazing project to be part of.”
After debuting in Zuma Miami on September 26, the system launched in Zumas across London, Hong Kong, Dubai and New York from the week commencing October 3, before arriving in Zuma Bangkok, Rome, Istanbul and Abu Dhabi on October 17.
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