Havana Club

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Havana Club is a brand of rum, made in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The brand was established by Josè Arechabala in 1878 and was nationalized after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Since 1993 it has produced by Havana Club International, a 50:50 joint venture between Pernod Ricard and the Cuban government.

Flavors

• Añejo Blanco
• Añejo 3 Años
• Añejo Especial
• Añejo Reserva
• Añejo 7 Años
• Añejo 15 Años - Gran Reserva
• Añejo Solera - San Cristóbal
• Extra Añejo - Máximo
• Cuban Barrel Proof

Añejo 15 Años Gran Reserva

The 15 Años Gran Reserva variety is not generally available; it is relatively difficult to obtain and is often regarded as one of the finest rums in the world.

Cuban Barrel Proof

The Barrel proof, which is bottled directly from oak casks, without being purified or diluted, was created by Maestro José Navarro, who obtained that rum of incredible flavor, color and brilliance.

The rum leaves a pleasant aftertaste due to its 45 degrees of alcohol, and has a mixed flavor of cocoa and coffee.

According to experts, Cuban Barrel Proof won the gold medal with "Exceptional" Mention at a contest in Chicago (the International Review of Spirits 2004, B.T.I.), in which the world's 56 best rums participated.

Añejo Solera San Cristóbal

"A Havana Club Special Edition label, which is only sold in the official store of the Havana Club Foundation Distillery. Havana Club rum Solera San Cristóbal was created for the grand celebration of the 480th Anniversary of the Villa San Cristóbal Foundation of the city of Havana." Fundación Havana Club

International sales

The Havana Club brand is sold outside of Cuba in conjunction with the Pernod Ricard drinks giant. Havana Club is not sold in the United States, however, due to an embargo on Cuban products. Bacardi has purchased the rights and original recipe from the originators (the Arechabala family, who fled Cuba with the recipe) of Havana Club Rum, and will begin to produce it for distribution in the U.S. This new Bacardi version utilizes the original (Pre-1960) recipe and is a different version than what the Cuban Government currently produces. The bacardi product, which is made in Puerto Rico, is currently the subject of trademark violation litigation by Pernod Ricard.

The U. S. Relaunch

As reported by the Miami Herald, following a favorable ruling by a federal court judge, Bacardi launched its own version of Havana Club in August of 2006. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office deemed the Havana Club trademark held by Cubaexport cancelled/expired. Although the factory was siezed by the government with no compensation to the Arechabala family, the final ruling is because the U. S. gives priority to the first entity to utilize a brand, not the first to register it.

The new Super Premium product was immediately well received by critics. Unlike the current Cuba produced version, the new product utilizes the original Arechabala family recipe developed in the 1930s. Distilled and crafted in Puerto Rico the rum uses black strap molasses, a slow fermentation process, five times distillation and white oak mellowing to create a velvet smoothness that is clean and round to the palate.

The product, currently only available in Florida, is Bacardi's first step in the relaunch. Intending to go national once quantities are more plentiful, they have also expressed their desire to fight for the international rights to the name.

Loco

Havana Club also produces Loco (sometimes called Havana Loco) which is fruit juice mixed with Añejo Blanco rum (loco in English means crazy). The flavors are:

• Limon
• Mango
• Pasión
• Toronja (pink grapefruit)

External links

• Official Pernod Ricard/Cuba Havana Club website
• Official Bacardi U.S.A. Havana Club website