Welcome to Cuban Rum: Now Go Home

Rum is not just for pirates. Rum has a history dating to the 1600s around the Caribbean including Cuba, and I’m sure some pirate somewhere was drinking rum and the image stuck. Yes, Captain Morgan was a real guy, but the cartoony image was created only in the 1940s. Anyhow, Cuba is no stranger to rum either, given their vast sugarcane plantings. So when in Havana, and on a budget, what to do? These rums are not sipping rums, they are average liquor store bought rums, simple but effective, flavorful and enticing in their own right. The rums here are all 375 ML and will pack easily into your suitcase (yes, please declare them) for your trip back to the States.

Havana Club Añejo Especial

Light and sweet, this rum is all caramel and butterscotch, cedar, roasted almonds, resin, campfire smoke, and toffee. This is a pretty basic rum, and not overly balanced. Fine for a mixer with a kick, it’s sweet and sugary. (40% ABV)

Havana Club Añejo Reserva

A more mature expression of the Especial, with more time in wood aging. Therefore the caramel and butterscotch notes - think Werther’s Originals – is richer. The nutty aspect begins to fade out and there are thick caramel notes, but over a short amount of time the toffee notes become more pronounced. (40% ABV)

Santiago de Cuba Añejo

A softer entry on the palette, there is mature honey suckle, resin, slight citrus notes as well as mild butterscotch and lemon zest. This offers a silkier viscosity, charred campfire wood, almost a subtle bitterness and certainly less sweet. (38% ABV)

Ron Cubay Añejo

More lithe and subtle, there is a maturity here, less of a mixer than the other rums listed. A potent brown sugar note is followed by burnt caramel and campfire smoke, English Toffee and toasted almonds. The best of the group as a stand alone rum to drink neat. (38% ABV)