Zacapa rum is produced in the verdant Guatemalan countryside, under a dramatic backdrop of soaring mountains and active volcanoes. Zacapa is exceptional in that unlike most rums which use molasses, Zacapa is produced using the sweetest first pressing of sugar cane juice, referred to as "virgin sugar cane honey." At an altitude of 2300 m above sea level, Zacapa rum uses a ‘Sistema Solera’ ageing process, with the rum being laid to rest in selected barrels that previously aged American whiskeys, sherries and Pedro Ximenez wines; in the case of XO, the final stage of ageing occurs in French oak cognac barrels.