The Cuban Heritage
Our Story
Havana Club – El Ron de Cuba
The heritage of Cuban culture
Our story
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The most beautiful island, the perfect sugarcaneWhen he first set sight on Cuba on the 28th of October 1492, Christopher Columbus is said to have exclaimed 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.
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Independent spiritSugar 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 was allowed to grow.
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The lightest rum for the freshest 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.
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When it’s cocktail time in CubaThis new rum became the perfect partner for bartenders in the early 20th century, when Cubans discovered mixology. With prohibition, American tourists came to Havana in large numbers and made the international reputation of local bartenders, called Cantineros.
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The art of the CantinerosThe 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.
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Havana Club became “El ron de Cuba”In the early 1970’s , Cuba decided to choose Havana Club to represent the island and export the best Cuban Rums. 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.
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The rum that conquered the worldIn 1993, Pernod Ricard S.A. and Corporación Cuba Ron S.A. launched the joint venture in charge of producing, marketing and commercialising Havana Club around the world. Thanks to the production team in Cuba, our rums are now the most rewarded Cuban rum with 27 medals in tasting competitions in the last four years.
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More than rum: El Ron de CubaCuban 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 Masters 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 puts 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.
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Cuban MasterclassesTraining is also organised for non-employees: in collaboration with the Asociación de Cantineros de Cuba, Havana Club frequently organises masterclasses to help Cuban bartenders reach their full potential.
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Havana Club is el ron de CubaProduced 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 embodies the spirit of Cuba.
