El Ron de Cuba Shaped by Cuban climate, geography, history, and people, rum is an essential part of the nation’s culture. As its finest expression, the Havana Club range represents this rich heritage. It is the true spirit of Cuba.
The Cuban Heritage
Havana Club – El Ron de Cuba
Havana Club – El Ron de Cuba
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The Cuban Heritage
Our story
  • The most beautiful island, the perfect sugarcane
    When he first set sight on Cuba on October 28th 1492, Christopher Columbus is said to have exclaimed it was “the most beautiful island of all”.
  • The sweetest gift
    On his second voyage in 1493, he brought something that would alter the Caribbean landscape forever: sugarcane. The plant was so perfectly suited to Cuba’s rich soils and climate that, by 1850, the country provided a third of the world’s sugar.
  • Revolutionary spirit
    Sugar production and rum go hand in hand but Spain initially refused to let its colonies distill, in fear of competition for its own spirits. It was not until the second half of the 19th century, when Cuba was fighting for its independence, that a real rum industry was allowed to grow.
  • The lightest rum for the freshest cocktails...
    By the late 19th century, new technologies had arrived on the market and Cuban rumproducers were early adapters of column stills. Thanks to their boundless creativity, they saw all the potential of these tools and were able to develop, with exceptional raw materials, a new style of rum: lighter and fresher but characteristically Cuban.
  • When it’s cocktail time in Cuba
    This new rum became the perfect partner for bartenders in the early 20th century, when Cubans discovered mixology. Due to prohibition, American tourists came to Havana in numbers and made the international reputation of local bartenders, called Cantineros.
  • The art of the cantineros
    The cantineros developed their own cocktail style and turned towards Cuban rums such as Havana Club (first launched under that name in 1934 by a producer who had been active since 1878) to create classics such as the Daiquiri, Mojito, Presidente or Cuba Libre. To this day, Cuban cocktails made with Cuban rums remain some of the world’s favourite tipples.
  • The human touch
    Faultlessly supporting the Maestros Ronero, the 250 plus strong production team working for Havana Club International in Cuba is continuously trained to adopt better working methods and reach the highest international standards. Without the dedication of these men and women, the brand couldn’t produce such a fine range of rum.
  • More than rum: the Spirit of Cuba
    Cultural heritage is not only a core value of the Maestros Roneros, it is also at the heart of everything Havana Club does. Indeed, Cuban rum cannot be understood without Cuban culture or Cuban people. This is why, as the foremost Cuban rum brand, Havana Club is also proud to promote promising artists. Set up in 2009, Havana Cultura supports and showcases Cuban talents worldwide with great success. Havana Club also sponsors and coproduces tours of significant national musicians.
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Our People
Crafted by true Cuban masters
The values of Havana Club are best represented by the Maestros Roneros. This is not a job taught in textbooks. As Don José Navarro, the first Maestro del Ron Cubano puts it, it is “a cultural heritage, passed on from Maestro to Maestro”. For 15 long years, the future maestro goes through rigorous training. Under the supervision of the dean of the Maestros Roneros, he learns to select the best molasses, supervise their transformation and distillation, pick the casks to age the distillates and blend them to obtain the finest rums. A Maestro Ronero is a true master of his craft.
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  • Cuban masterclasses
    Training are also organized for non-employees: in collaboration with the Asociación de Cantineros de Cuba, Havana Club frequently organizes masterclasses to help Cuban bartenders reach their potential.
  • The true soul of an island
    Produced by Maestros Roneros following traditional Cuban methods, enjoyed by cantineros and rum drinkers around the world to the rhythm of the best Cuban music, Havana Club really is the spirit of Cuba.