What does solera mean on a bottle of rum?

A solera system consists of casks arranged in tiers: bottling is done from the bottom tier, and each tier is topped up from the tier above. The bottom tier is called the solera, the tiers above are called criaderas.

The Consejo Regulador of Jerez describes it as a dynamic system in which wines from different stages of maturation are blended with each other to maintain the characteristics of the end product. A cask is never emptied completely; each time a portion is drawn off and younger wine comes back in.

With rum it works essentially the same. Rum author Matt Pietrek describes it like this: rum comes in at level 1, and periodically a small quantity is taken from all casks of a level and moved to the next level. The result is that every cask contains mixtures of widely varying age.

For sherry, the protected designation of origin Jerez sets the system: according to the Pliego de Condiciones, maturation lasts at least two years, and the Consejo Regulador certifies the age categories.

There is also a brake on how fast you may draw down a solera. The ratio between the total stock in the system and what leaves per year must be greater than two. So per year at most about half may come out.

On top of that basis come the certified age designations:

• VOS, Vinum Optimum Signatum, on average more than 20 years
• VORS, Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum, on average more than 30 years
• Designations for sherry with an average age between 12 and 15 years

What those designations have in common: an independent body checks the claim before it may appear on the label.

Article 13(6) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 stipulates that a maturation period or age may only be stated on a spirit if it refers to the youngest alcoholic component. The entire maturation must also have taken place under fiscal supervision of a Member State, or under supervision offering equivalent guarantees.

There is an exception, but it does not apply to rum. Annex III of the same regulation describes the dynamic ageing system criaderas y solera, exclusively for brandy, and gives a calculation formula for it: t = Vt/Ve, where t is the average age, Vt the total stock in litres of pure alcohol and Ve the volume withdrawn annually for dispatch. The annex sets limits on the withdrawal, depending on cask size.

For rum such a system does not exist in European law. The word solera does not appear in Annex I, where the 44 categories of spirits are listed.

Every cask in a solera contains a blend of rum from various years, so that no single vintage can be pointed to any more.

With every tapping, the same portion leaves all casks on a level, and is topped up from the level above. Rum that went in twenty years ago is still in there in small amounts, alongside rum that was added last year.

Producers express that in different ways: the age of the oldest rum in the blend, an average over the system, or the number of years the house has worked with that solera. What the number on the bottle indicates is stated in the producer’s description.

Check whether a minimum age is stated on the bottle next to the word solera, because that is the number that gives certainty.

The rules differ per country. Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama allow average ages, whereas Article 13(6) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 prescribes that an age statement refers to the youngest alcoholic component.

Practically it comes down to this. If there is only a number next to the word solera, it says nothing about the youngest rum in the bottle. If it says something like at least 8 years, then you do know. If you are unsure about a bottle we have, call or walk in; we will look together at what the producer says about it.