THE BRAND
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. Produced by Maestros del Ron Cubano following traditional Cuban methods, enjoyed by Cantineros and rum drinkers around the world to the rhythm of the best Cuban music, Havana Club embodies the spirit of Cuba.
OUR STORY
The heritage of cuban culture
The most beautiful island, the perfect sugar cane
When he first set sight on Cuba on the 28th of October 1492, Christopher Columbus is said to have declared it was “the most beautiful island of all”. After its introduction onto the island, sugarcane was so perfectly suited to Cuba’s rich soils and climate that, by 1850, the country provided a third of the world’s sugar.
Independent spirit
Sugar production and rum go hand in hand, but Spain initially refused to let its colonies distil, 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 could grow.
The lightest rum for the freshness cocktails…
By the late 19th century, new technologies had arrived on the market and Cuban rum producers were early adopters 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 early 20th century, when Cuba discovered mixology. During Prohibition, American tourists came to Havana in large 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 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.
Havana Club became "El Ron de Cuba"
In the early 1970’s, a new logo was created, symbolizing the sun that shines on the island and makes its rum so rich, the warmth of the Cuban people and the Giraldilla, the emblem of the city of Havana and its free spirit.
The rum that conquered the world
In 1993, Pernod Ricard S.A. and Corporación Cuba Ron S.A. created the joint venture Havana Club International S.A., to bring Havana Club to consumers around the world. Thanks to the production team in Cuba, our rums are now the most rewarded Cuban rums with 27 medals in tasting competitions in the last four years.
More than rum: El Ron de Cuba
Cuban rum cannot be understood without Cuban culture or Cuban people. Since 1996, Havana Club organises the Havana Club Grand Prix, one of the oldest and of the most prestigious competitions for professional bartenders. Since 2009 Havana Cultura supports and showcases Cuban talents worldwide with great success. To know more about Cuban Culture, a visit to our Museum of Rum offers a real-time experience of the rum-making process.
OUR PEOPLE
Crafted by Maestros del Ron Cubano
The values of Havana Club are best represented by the Maestros del Ron Cubano. This is not a job taught in textbooks. As Don José Navarro, the premier Maestro del Ron Cubano put it, it is “a cultural heritage, passed on from Maestro to Maestro”. For 15 long years the aspiring Maestro undergoes through a rigorous training. Under the supervision of a senior Maestro del Ron Cubano he learns to select the best molasses, supervise their fermentation and distillation, pick the best casks to age the distillates and blend them to obtain the finest rums. A Maestro del Ron Cubano is a true master of his craft.
MAKING PROCESS
The finest rums have one thing in common: time
“What makes our rums special? It’s the unique ingredients that nature has provided: rich sugar cane, fertile soil, the perfect tropical climate that gave Cuba the nickname “the isle of rum”. It’s the people: from the harvesters to the workers in our distillery to the master rum-maker, all driven by a passion for this Cuban tradition. And it’s also time, for every single one of our rums is aged for at least three years. Is it worth it? We think so.
“Cuban rum has its own specificities that are very hard to replicate anywhere else than in Cuba.”
Don Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Maestro del Ron Cubano”
Havana Club 3, Havana Club Especial & Havana Club 7
Our three best-selling rums embody the Cuban light rum style, with its lightness and freshness paired with the complexity and elegance that comes from natural tropical ageing. Each undergoes a distinct ageing process to release the optimum flavours for specific cocktails or simply for sipping.
The Havana Club prestige collection: the genuine tradition and heritage of Cuban rum
The Havana Club Prestige Collection harnesses the expertise and passion of Cuba’s Maestros del Ron Cubano to create exceptional rums that can challenge even the most refined palates. Each is a rare expression of the work of the Maestros del Ron Cubano, past and present, created for sipping and savouring.
CULTURA
HAVANA CULTURA
Just like our rum, Cuba’s artistic scene has a style, richness and vibrancy of its own! Through the Havana Club Cultura initiative, we’ve been committed since 2007 to help Cuban artists show the world what they do and let the world see and hear what they have to say about their work, their life and their country. Want to get a flavour of the Cuban arts scene?
Our Commitments
Sustainability & Responsibility
Sustainability & Responsibility is part of our history. It draws on our vision ‘Créateurs de Convivialité’ and is one of our business priorities. From ‘grain to glass’, S&R is at the heart of our business and everyone has a role to play in delivering this new plan.
We bring good times from a good place, to create a more convivial world, a world without excess.
Circular making
The world is made of finite resources, under huge pressure. HCI is committed to minimizing waste at every step by imagining, producing and distributing its products in ways that optimize and help preserve natural resources.
Valuing people
Convivialité is about sharing, warmth, care and respect for people everywhere. This commitment is related to increasing diversity and fairness for all its people and empowering people across its supply chain.
Responsible Hosting
Wine & Spirits bring people together and serve a valuable role in society. HCI is committed to fighting alcohol misuse in society by taking action on harmful drinking and engaging with its stakeholders for real change.
Nurturing terroir
Every Havana Club product takes its character from the land where it was grown. This area of commitment focuses on nurturing every terroir and its biodiversity, responding to the challenges of climate change to ensure quality ingredients now and for generations to come.
