"Havana Club", rum: description, brands, reviews. Havana Club

"Havana Club" - rum, which became the national symbol of Cuba. Freedom Island produces a lot of decent distillates. But the brand "Havana Club" is the most popular and sold among the Roma of the world. The largest producers of alcohol - the concerns of Bacardi and Pernod Ricard - have been fighting for ownership of the controlling stake for thirty years. In terms of sales of rum, Havana Club ranks fifth in the world. How does this brand win the hearts of alcohol consumers? Why do people choose the rum "Havana Club"? We will discuss this in our article.

History of the Cuban Roma

And it all began with Christopher Columbus, who in 1493 brought to the New World sugar cane from North Africa. He did this not for making rum. But the favorable climate of the Caribbean and fertile soils have revealed the unexpected potential of the plant brought from behind the sea. This reed variety, distinguished by its honey sweetness, juiciness and the ability to intensify fermentation, was used by local residents to produce taifa (moonshine). With the onset of the nineteenth century, copper distillers and the instillation of vessels into the earth for aging (the so-called aguardientes method) began to be used in the production of alcohol. This allowed to significantly improve the quality of the drink. But nevertheless rum until the middle of the XIX century was considered a product for ignorant peasants and harsh seamen. There was a need to adapt it to the refined tastes of the aristocracy. So there was a soft and easy "Ron Superior". The demand for it was so great that already in 1870 on the island there were more than a thousand factories for its manufacture. And soon one of them became Havana Club.

The history of the Roma "Havana Club"

In 1863, José Arechabal Aldama set foot on the Cuban coast. The young man was not yet sixteen, when relatives from Vizcaya arranged him clerk in the trading house of the BEA in Havana. The young man showed remarkable abilities in commerce. Ten years later the Marquis de Alava Julian Zulueta offered the young Jose the place of his representative in the city of Cardenas. In this port the business life was boiling. Zulueta owned huge sugar cane plantations. He owned plants for processing plants. But he decided not to sell Arechabal sugar. Light rum from Cuba has already won the hearts of gourmets of Europe and North America. Don Jose established the distillery and ran it. And when the Marquess of Zulueta died, he bought the enterprise from the heirs. By 1923 the joint-stock company Arechaba, headed by the descendants of Aldama, had gained a good reputation and became known in Canada and the United States. In 1933, a tropical hurricane swept over Cuba, completely destroying the plant. The Arechabal family rebuilt it in the same place and named "Havana Club". The rum produced at this plant had the same name. So that the birthday of the drink can be considered March 19, 1934.

Clash of the Titans

Now we need to clarify the question of why "Havana Club" rum is produced in two countries - Cuba and Puerto Rico. After the revolution of 1959, all property of Arechaba was nationalized, and the family itself fled abroad. The enterprise in Cárdenas continued to produce rum, which was exported to the USSR and other countries of the socialist camp. In the nineties, a representative of Pernod Ricard contacted the Cuban government, which acquired fifty percent of the shares of the state-owned company Havana Club. The rum of this concern continues to be produced in Cardenas. At the same time, the company "Bacardi" bought from the Arechabal family all the rights to the "Havana Club" rum, and at the same time the original drink recipe. This concern has established production in Puerto Rico. And now the World Trade Organization, the US Congress and the EU are involved in litigation between the titans of alcoholic products.

Cuban or Puerto Rican product: which one is better?

A simple consumer has only benefited from this thirty-year battle for the brand. After all, "Pernod Ricard" and "Bacardi" are trying to make their drink as good and better as possible. On the labels of Cardenas bottles there is a proud inscription: "Cuban rum Havana Club" (El ron de Cuba). The quality of the drink is monitored by "Maestro Ronero". To become such a master blender, you need to study fifteen years. Now this post is held by Jose Navarro. Quality control by origin obliged the Bacardi concern to indicate on rum bottles that the drink was not created in Cuba but in Puerto Rico. This can be considered a minus, if not for one "but". The company "Bacardi" owns an original recipe, which is more than eighty years old. After all, the Arechabal family held him in strict secrecy. Certainly in technology there are some nuances that give the taste of rum from "Bacardi" a certain zest. And the soil and climate in Puerto Rico are similar to the Cuban.

Manufacturing technology

A lot of the taste of rum depends on the quality of the reed. The more juicy and sweeter, the better the molasses - molasses. From it, as well as pure key water and yeast, prepare a mixture called "batision". After the fermentation process, the distillation stage in the distillation cubes begins. Then it is cleaned. The thus obtained rum alcohol is aged in barrels of valuable white oak wood. This stage of production - a trump card firm "Havana Club". The rum of this brand is always seasoned. The term can be different: from two ("Blanco"), three years ("Aniejo 3 Anos") to fifteen or more ("Barrel Proof"). Then blending of various rum spirits takes place. This is the work of maestro Ronero personally. A blended beverage is sent to a second exposure so that all ingredients are integrated. In Cuba there is a special "Havana Club Museum". The exposition shows all stages of production, from growing sugar cane to the finished product, which can be tasted.

Marks of the Roma "Havana Club"

Concern "Bacardi" produces only one species, which is called Havana Club Anejo Clasico Puerto Rican Rum. It is a rum fortress forty degrees. He has an excellent balanced taste, a rich bouquet and a beautiful dark amber color. A much wider range of products from the concern "Pernod Ricard". In addition to the Roma, the Cuban factory produces four types of low-alcohol (5%) cocktail "Havana Club Loko": with passion fruit, pink grapefruit, lemon and mango. The youngest spirits (from eighteen months to two years of aging) are used in "Aniejo Blanco." It is a colorless 40-degree drink. The bouquet of rum combines the notes of cherry, vanilla and cocoa. The taste of the drink is balanced, but a bit harsh, with a slight taste of alcohol.

Rum "Havana Club Aniejo 3 Anos"

This is the bestseller of the trading house. In it, the price and quality are optimally connected. At the international competition "Vine and Spirit Competitions", held in 1996 in London, this rum brand won a silver medal. As the name suggests, spirits mature in barrels for at least three years. The drink has a nice straw color. The aroma, which has a three-year rum "Havana Club", reviews characterize as caramel-vanilla, with notes of banana, pear and haze of burnt oak. The taste of the drink is sweet, chocolate. The five-year-old rum has similar qualities.

Elite brands

Expensive drinks of this distillery have a longer aging time and a rich blend. Rum "Havana Club 7 years" has the color of a noble mahogany. In its aroma, the tones of vanilla and elite tobacco varieties are guessed. The taste of the drink is mild, with nuances of tropical fruits and cocoa. Fifteen-year-old rum has an amazing property to reveal gradually. In his taste, honey, prune, banana and pear appear on the stage. Amber drink exudes the aroma of exotic fruits. "Havana Club Reserve" is a complex, carefully selected blend of spirits of different ages. In the bouquet of rum can be traced caramel, pear and tobacco. "Havana Club Aniejo Especial" is a mixture of distillates of double aging. Rum smells like flowers, spices, orange peel and vanilla. The taste of the drink is characterized as caramel. There are also notes of tobacco and cinnamon.

How to drink rum "Havana Club"

Elite and collectible brands should be consumed separately. This is the only way to disclose all the semitones and elegant nuances of Roma. You can throw a few ice cubes into the glass. Elite varieties of rum "Havana Club" leave a long spicy aftertaste, in which candied candied fruit and bitterly burnt oak. Ordinary brands can also drink solo - paired with a Havana cigar. They can also be used to make famous cocktails "Cuba Libre", "Mojito" and "Daiquiri".