This rum is aged in bourbon barrels. I didn’t get much bourbon flavor, but it definitely tastes like an aged rum. I preferred the Zacapa to this rum. This rum was a bit dryer than the Zacapa with a little less vanilla flavor. It did excel at being smoother than the Zacapa when chilled. It went down easy and didn’t give me any morning grief. It is certainly a bit smoother rum than Zacapa…… but at $45 I’d choose the $39 Zacapa most of the time.