teejay - 29 July 2007 05:03 PM

You are correct about the Labatts connection. They went down a number of years ago and assisted the Cubans with modernizing their brewery. There are many joint Canadian- Cuban businesses. You see the flags of both countries outside some of these businesses when traveling the island. Chinese flag is increasingly common also.

As for the rum has anyone out there tried Lengendario 7 anos? I believe it is absolutely the best accompaniment to a cigar you can find. Unlike the other rums it is 34% alcohol and I assume the unfermented sugar cane gives it the sweet taste but with wonderful finish. If you like port with a cigar you probably will also like this. Alas only bought one bottle when I visited the factory in Havana and was unable to find it the last time I was on the island (not in Havana) so I am not sure how widely it is distributed. It was a small factory. A friend who owns a pub tells me he can order it but has to be a case. At Canadian prices though not the $6 CUC’s in Cuba. One third of a bottle left but if any rum lovers are passing by North Bay, Ontario I would be willing to share a shot if its still here. Cheers.

teejay

The 7 year old is indeed a fine vintage of havana club ron, and yes you are correct in that it is deemed the ron of choice with a cigar, not that I smoke but many people told me that when I have been in Cuba.

I have some 15 year old here at home, which is exceedingly good but at $80 a bottle (may have come down now) it was a special treat to myself which rarely gets opened (ok I sniff it now and again and treat myself to a small shot glass full, too scared illl run out lol

teejay - 29 July 2007 05:03 PM

You are correct about the Labatts connection. They went down a number of years ago and assisted the Cubans with modernizing their brewery. There are many joint Canadian- Cuban businesses. You see the flags of both countries outside some of these businesses when traveling the island. Chinese flag is increasingly common also.

As for the rum has anyone out there tried Lengendario 7 anos? I believe it is absolutely the best accompaniment to a cigar you can find. Unlike the other rums it is 34% alcohol and I assume the unfermented sugar cane gives it the sweet taste but with wonderful finish. If you like port with a cigar you probably will also like this. Alas only bought one bottle when I visited the factory in Havana and was unable to find it the last time I was on the island (not in Havana) so I am not sure how widely it is distributed. It was a small factory. A friend who owns a pub tells me he can order it but has to be a case. At Canadian prices though not the $6 CUC’s in Cuba. One third of a bottle left but if any rum lovers are passing by North Bay, Ontario I would be willing to share a shot if its still here. Cheers.

teejay

I was talking to the Labatts rep who looked after Cuba on one of my last visits, he was looking for a permanent representative to stay in Cuba to keep an eye on things, I couldnt persuade him to take me on

Thanks for the info. If you are talking to him again, I have a couple potential employees that he might like to talk with.

No doubt that would be a fantastic job… Havana Club rum representative based in Cuba! Nice!

He said I’d hate it… a lot because of the problems with getting things done, pressure from Head Office in Canada, motivating the Cubans (I’ve heard similar from an Airline engineer on that front), personally like you I thought it’d be an amazing job in a great place.

If I hear from him I’ll put him in touch with you, its been a while since I’ve heard from him though

I heard the same from a US food rep that I know. He lived in Cuba for a couple years but ended up hating the place because of all the communist bureaucracy and lack of decisions that should have been based on profit rather than what the Cuban government dictated. He moved to the Dominican Republic and is doing well from what I understand.

So, instead of taking orders from bar owners, you’d be dealing with low level Cuban government officials who would tell you what rum to put where I guess. But, if you were getting paid Canadian wages but living in Cuba, that can’t be so bad.

Found this image of an old Havana Club rum brochure. Do they still have an office near the Plaza de Catedral?

Rum is all the rage. The Caribbean’s gift to the world, made from fermented and distilled sugar cane juice or molasses, has never been more popular. Here in Havana they drink little else, apart from a rather nice beer called Bucanero Fuerte. As I follow the Hemingway trail around town from El Floridita (“Cradle of the Daiquiri”) to La Bodeguita del Medio (“Home of the Mojito”), I develop a serious taste for the stuff.
   
My researches take me deep into the night - a bar here, a jazz club there - during which I discover that not only does rum make superbly refreshing pre-prandial cocktails, it is also spectacularly delicious served neat as a digestif.

At Havana Club, one of the world’s bestsellers, head distiller Don José Navarro is passionate about his product: “If making alcohol to help people avoid reality was my only objective, I would have walked away long ago. But my sole purpose in life is to express my love for Cuba through my rum. Cubans embrace life, behaving as if they’re going to live forever. Even a funeral or a workers’ strike is a carnival. Our rum is a distillation of this Cuban culture and I defy anyone not to smile after just a sip.”

I know what he means. I’ve been beaming non-stop for two days. And now I feel the first twitch of a grin as I gulp a glass of chilled fresh sugar cane juice. It is absurdly flavoursome and - despite an intense sweetness - wonderfully refreshing.

“Now you know why our rums are so fine,” says Don José. “It’s all down to the sugar cane, brought to Cuba from the Canary Islands by Columbus. It’s 100 per cent natural and full of goodness.”

We taste the Havana Club range:....

Read more of the Telegraph.co.uk story here.

I came across the Havana Club Maximo Rum this evening.. boy I’d love to try that, I have a bottle of 15 here at home and that cost me $80 in Cuba a couple of years ago. This is slightly over £1000 here in the UK. (Research suggests about $700 in Cuba).

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-4486.aspx

Publisher - 29 January 2008 10:26 PM

Found this image of an old Havana Club rum brochure. Do they still have an office near the Plaza de Catedral?

The Museum is just around the corner from there if my memory serves me correctly.

nepolean - 23 May 2009 04:05 AM

A long time drinker of Cuban rum I would just like to say the quality of Original Cuban rum and cigars are second to none I always buy Cuban sadly the immitation products are undermining the genuine Cuban products and now consumers need to be selective when they buy…well done Cuba

I don’t smoke myself but the RUM, well i’m with you 100% there, so many times I’ve been given the likes of Barcardi etc when asking for a Cuba Libre when there is Havana Club on the shelf, one guy once insisted he’d put Havana Club in but the taste is so distinctive I insisted he make another..