Good day dear readers and blog followers!

Please raise your hand if you enjoy a good quality drink… even if only occasionally, or even rarely.
Now, please raise your hand if you’ve been to Cuba, or have been hanging out with Cubans for a substantial period of time…

If you have both your hands up now, then you are most probably familiar with the wonderful Rums of Cuba, whether Havana Club, Caney, Cubay, Ron Santiago de Cuba, Guayabita del Pinar, Legendario… whether in a cocktail like Mojito or Cuba Libre or in pure form (which is the best way to drink, IMHO), and know their value!

So, what it Rum, anyways?
Rum (in Spanish, Ron) is a “strong” (~80 proof \ ~40%) alcoholic drink produced in the process of distillation of fermented sugarcane, it’s byproducts such as molasses or the sugarcane juice itself, which is then aged in oak barrels.

Rum is mostly produced in countries that historically are (or have been) major producers of sugar, many of which are in the Caribbean and Latin America, but also more recently in Europe, north America and south-east Asia.
One of the major producers and exporters of Rum is Cuba!

Rum is aged in oak barrels, and comes in various grades, that increase with aging.
Light \ white rum is the “youngest” variant, most often used in cocktails, while dark \ brown \ black rums are mostly drank neat or “on the rocks”, and are usually aged for at least 5 years.
Premium rums, aged for 12, 15, 18 or 20 year (sometimes even more!) are valued by connoisseurs, and are mostly sold at very high prices…

Just like sugar, Rum was, and still is, a major branch of light industry and export in Cuba.
Produced since the XVIII century, it mainly served the north American market until the revolution, but since 1994 has been freely available worldwide, and can now be bought almost anywhere (well, not in the US, at least for the time being, before they finally remove their stupid embargo…) .
The most famous distillery is Havana Club, from Habana, but afficionados of the wonder drink are mostly familiar with other just-as-good-or-even-better brands and local variants produced in Cuba, as you can see in the images throughout the article.

After tasting quite a few rums, such as various “bacardi” or “captain morgan” variants, I can say that they are nothing compared to most of Cuba’s rums!
Any Havana Club, Caney, Mulata, Cubay, Legendario, Guyabita, Ron Santiago de Cuba, and most probably many others, take them by taste and quality any time…

So, let’s raise our traguitos of fine Cuban rum, and enjoy it with a the new composition of El Nino y La Verdad about Rum, called (quite originally 😉 ) Cuba Ron.
Saludos, disfruten!