By Ema Lynnx
To mark its fiftieth anniversary, the house Zacapa Enters Assouline's library. Signed by the Guatemalan author Claudia Hernandez, Ron Zacapa from Guatemala does not simply tell the story of a rum: the book celebrates a volcanic territory and ancestral know-how.
A book in the colors of Guatemala
An incandescent orange, a braided band reminiscent of potatoes, and, at its center, a glass of rum catching the light. From its linen cover, Ron Zacapa from Guatemala asserts its identity. The new book published by Assouline belongs to that category of beautiful books designed as much to be read as to be displayed.
Across 256 pages and through more than 150 illustrations, it takes the reader from the sugar cane plantations of southern Guatemala to the high-altitude cellars where the house's blends age. The book itself is generously sized, measuring 25 by 33 centimeters and weighing nearly 2,5 kilos, and its editorial and photographic work extends the sensory world of Zacapa. Published in English in July 2026 in the collection Assouline ClassicsThe book is offered at a price of 120 euros.
Its release coincides precisely with Zacapa's fiftieth anniversary. A particularly symbolic coincidence for a house whose identity is based on patience, transmission, and the slow transformation of materials.
Claudia Hernández, a Guatemalan voice
To tell Zacapa's story, Assouline chose Claudia Hernandez, photographer, poet, editor, translator and bilingual teacher born and raised in Guatemala, now living in Los Angeles. Awarded the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize in 2018 and a finalist for the Firecracker Award in 2020 in the creative non-fiction category, she brings to the narrative a perspective that goes far beyond the world of spirits.
In his writing, rum becomes a gateway to Guatemala. The book explores its volcanic soils, emerald valleys, rural communities, and the traditions passed down through generations. It shows how, behind each bottle, a human chain unfolds, bringing together farmers, cellar masters, coopers, and artisans.
This dimension distinguishes the work from a simple brand monograph. Ron Zacapa from Guatemala It reads like a portrait of a country told through its landscapes, its raw materials and its craftsmanship.
A house born from an anniversary
The story of Zacapa itself begins with a celebration. The distillery was established in 1976 to commemorate the centennial of the founding of the Guatemalan city of Zacapa, located just over 100 kilometers from Guatemala City. Its name comes from the Nahuatl language and means "on the river of grass."
In just a few decades, the company has established itself in the international world of premium rums by developing an identity closely linked to its Guatemalan origins. In this Central American country, the territory plays not only a narrative role: it is involved at every stage of the production process.
Unlike many rums made from molasses, Zacapa uses a concentrate from the first pressing of sugarcane. This sugarcane is grown in southern Guatemala, on mineral-rich volcanic soils irrigated by numerous streams. This raw material contributes to the sweetness and aromatic depth characteristic of the distillery's blends.
The fermentation also uses a strain of yeast derived from pineapple, chosen to develop aromas before distillation.
Time suspended above the clouds
After its distillation in the warm plains of Guatemala, the rum embarks on a journey to the mountains. It reaches the "House Above the Clouds," located at an altitude of approximately 2,300 meters.
At this altitude, the cooler, more humid air slows the exchange between the liquid and the wood. Aging becomes gentler and more gradual, allowing the rums to develop their deep color, texture, and aromatic complexity without undergoing the same accelerated evaporation as in a warmer, tropical climate.
Zacapa then drew inspiration from Solera SystemThis method combines rums of different ages and profiles through a succession of casks. Under the direction of master blender Lorena Vásquez, the spirits are aged in American oak barrels that previously held whiskey, as well as casks that have held sherry, Pedro Ximénez, or cognac. Each type of wood, each toasting level, and each previous use imparts a unique nuance to the final blend.
Lorena Vásquez, the architect of assemblages
A central figure in Zacapa's contemporary history, Lorena Vásquez has overseen the house's blending process for over thirty-five years. Born in Nicaragua, with degrees in chemistry and pharmacy, she also studied food technology and business administration. She is one of the few women to hold the position of master blender in a historically male-dominated field.
His role is to orchestrate the relationships between the different rums, the types of oak, the toasting levels, and the maturation times. This approach is less about applying a fixed recipe than about an ongoing process of interpretation.
Zacapa No. 23, the house's signature expression, reveals aromas of caramel, vanilla, cocoa, and dried fruit, which are complemented on the palate by apricot, coffee, wood, leather, and spices. Edición Negra emphasizes a smokier dimension thanks to the use of double-charred American oak barrels, while Zacapa XO finishes its maturation in French oak barrels that previously held cognac.
The petate, a handcrafted signature
Around the bottles of Zacapa No. 23, a braided band immediately catches the eye. This petate is much more than a decorative element. In Mayan culture, this braiding symbolizes the union between earth and sky, an image that echoes the rum's journey from the sugarcane fields to the high-altitude cellars.
The first Zacapa bottle, from 1976, was entirely wrapped in a braid made by women from the El Progreso region. Starting in 1999, the company developed programs working with Quiché artisans displaced by conflict, and later with communities in Jocotán weakened by drought. Today, more than 700 women participate in making the petate bands used by the brand.
By dedicating several pages to these craftswomen, the book reminds us that Zacapa's identity is not solely based on the quality of its rums. It is also built around collective actions, a local economy, and a preserved artisanal heritage.
A book of rum, earth, and memory
With Ron Zacapa from Guatemala, Assouline transforms the history of a house of liquor in a travelogue. The photographs move from sun-drenched fields to the mists of the high plateaus, from hands harvesting sugarcane to those weaving palm fronds. The amber glass then becomes the meeting point between tropical heat, mountain coolness, the crackling of wood, and the slow pace of time.
More than a commemorative work, this beautiful book reveals the coherence of a house that has made Guatemala its raw material, its language, and its signature. Fifty years after its creation, Zacapa is therefore not simply celebrating an anniversary but recounting, page after page, all that a rum can contain: territory, memory, and the work of its people.
Alcohol abuse is dangerous for health. To consume with moderation.
Photos: Zacapa
