Some successes are revealed when half-wins arrive. Example, the mojito, the very embodiment of the “cuban attitude”. This biblically simple drink was created in Havana, one of the historic cocktail capitals. Always popular in the bars of the city, it propelled Cuban white rum around the world while popularizing an art of living where it is good to listen to the Buena Vista Social Club. An undeniable success, with one nuance: the ron cubano (Cuban rum), and its light style, found itself confined to the “good for cocktail” category, obscuring its undeniable richness.
An undeniable richness
Fortunately, the lines are moving. For two reasons. The first is cyclical: all the (many) terroirs of rum attract more and more followers every day. A trend confirmed by Christian Barré, Managing Director of Havana Club International: “We have just experienced a historic year with an increase of 4.6 million cases sold, including 3.3 million for export”, he explains. on the Guarida terrace, a paladar (private restaurant) trendy Havana where the film, which has become a classic, was shot Fresh and Chocolate.
The second reason, the heart of the matter: quality. Benefiting from a Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) since 2013, the Ron Cuban, a blend of aguardientes (very aromatic brandies from island canes) and light rums, which bring strength and structure, is governed by very strict rules, like the AOC of Martinique. It must therefore be made from molasses, with no additives except sugar, the content of which is limited to 20 g/l – we know worse – and made from exclusively raw sugar cane.
Another local particularity that we observed on the spot: the know-how still little known in our latitudes of the fourteen maestros roneros (master rum makers) of the island, not one more. Their virtuosity, acquired during a very long apprenticeship (about fifteen years for the aspirants) was listed in November 2022 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco. And contrary to the widespread idea that Cuba is withdrawn into itself, these masters are listening to the world. Evidenced by the Primer Maestro Ron Cubano, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Delgado, at Havana Club since the 1970s. “Cognac is for us the model to follow to obtain exceptional spirits”, he testified during a recent visit to Paris.
Historical upheavals
The history of Cuban rum is as old as sugar cane brandy, but it has been rocked by many historical upheavals. Like the Castro revolution of 1959. The real turning point came in 1993, when the Pernod-Ricard group signed an agreement with Fidel Castro to develop Havana Club, a historic Cuban signature founded in 1878. today as the third best-known rum brand in the world (distributed in 120 countries), a remarkable performance for a product subject to a sales ban in the United States, the world’s largest market. An embargo decreed in 1962 by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, confirmed and even tightened thereafter.
Return to the “pearl” of the Caribbean. Here we are at the heart of operations, in San José de las Lajas, in the ultramodern distillery that Havana Club built sixteen years ago, forty-five minutes from Havana. Here, all the brand’s rums are continuously distilled in a double column, aged (minimum three years) and then blended. aging, theanejamiento, is of crucial importance. THE ron fresco (fresh rum) passes through a charcoal filter before being blended with a sugarcane distillate and then poured into a selection of casks that have held whiskey. The youngest barrels are chosen for their technical properties, the oldest in order to let the rum “breathe”. Under the influence of the tropical regime, the eaux-de-vie naturally age much faster than in a continental climate, with the corollary of a much larger share of angels.
In the cellars which house an impressive stock, Asbel Morales Lorenzo, maestro ronero at Havana Club since 2007, cowardly, not without pride: “Some of our rums are 60 years old”, before specifying that “references to the age account (3 and 7 years) indicate, like the single Scotch malt, the age of the youngest eau-de-vie in the blend.” Later, in his laboratory, the man of the art presents his ultrapremium range, including the Maximo Extra Anejo, a blend of rums rare and ageless – only 1,000 bottles are produced each year – and the Tributo series of limited editions. Launched for the first time in 2016, this collection reveals the wide aromatic palette of Cuban rums. Needless to say, the 2,500 bottles are going like hotcakes with collectors, more and more of whom are interested in the category.
A first Cuban vintage
Another surprise for the traveler passing through Cuba, some Havana Club are only available on the island, where the brand occupies 70% of the market. The Profundo, in particular, a delicious white with a high level of aguardiente. A beast of competition for daiquiri, to be discovered at La Floridita, one of Ernest Hemingway’s favorite bars, whose bronze bust still sits at the end of the counter. Alas, his arrival in France is not yet on the program. Unlike Cuban Smoky, a soft brown with smoky aromas after aging in whiskey casks from Islay, known for its peat. “This is unprecedented, we are also going to launch the first Cuban vintage, a 2007 aged in white oak barrels”, announces Christian Barré.
An event that confirms the dynamism of Cuban-style premium. A niche in which Eminente successfully engulfed itself, in September 2020, with the support of the luxury group LVMH. Camille de Dominicis, co-founder of the brand produced in the Santa Clara region in the center of the island, explains: “Our 7-year-old Reserva is sold in around ten countries in Europe and we plan to release it this year. two new references, including a limited edition, during the Bordeaux Rhum Festival.” For connoisseurs, Eminente pushes the aguardiente cursor far: already present at 70% in its permanent reference, it goes to 100% and will titrate 55%. César Marti, the master rum maker (the youngest on the island) has undoubtedly found a loophole in the DOP regulations, which only allow an alcohol content of between 37 and 41%.
This revival also benefits the other distilleries on the island, both historic, such as Santiago de Cuba, created in 1862, and more recent, such as Santisima Trinidad. In perpetual quest for foreign currency, the Cuban State also signs new joint ventures, in particular with the Mexicans of Fraternity Spirits, which gives birth to a new label: Conde de Cuba. A rich offer that opens wide the door of tasting rums to Cuban eaux-de-vie. But cocktail lovers can be reassured, this new start will not leave them orphans: mojitos and daiquiris will continue to flow. The party continues!