New Cuban Rums, Other than Havana Club, to Hit World Shelves Soon

Cuba will be soon exporting eight brands of rums other than Havana Club, the island nation’s landmark spirit, as a result of its top-quality distilling, Belkys Acosta, chief of Exports and Sales for Cuba’s Ministry of Food Industries, said in a press conference a few days ago.

The new rums entering the international market are Santiago de Cuba and Cubay from Cuba-Ron; Legendario and Arecha produced by the Beverage and Soft Drink League; Mulata and Bucanero from Tecnoazucar, and Varadero and Caney distilled by CIMEX.

Mrs. Acosta noted the assortment of new products will be officially unveiled within the framework of the upcoming International Rum Festival scheduled from June 6 to 9 this year at the Morro-Cabaña Tourism Compound.

Festival organizers are expecting a turnout of world-class rum makers, mostly from the Americas, who will also gather in Havana to celebrate the Cuban capital’s 485th birthday on November 16.

The agenda includes exchanges among distillers, dealers, retailers and experts from the industry, a welcome cocktail party, a tradeshow, master lectures, a theoretical event, grand tours to sugarcane plantations, visits to rum distilleries and other functions.

Doctor Jose Navarro, a man who’s highly linked to the Havana Club rum; Alberto Francis of the Ministry of Sugar, as well as Raul Leon and Reynaldo Lopez, a pair of Cuban cocktail shakers, will be on the list of anticipated lecturers.

Representatives from the World Rum & Spirit Producers Association are also expected to attend the festival. Visitors will have a chance to visit rum-making factories as distilleries in Santiago de Cuba (east), Villa Clara (central) and Santa Cruz del Norte (west).

As an add-on to this year’s opening festival, organizers have planned a bartender contest in both classic and freestyle categories given the Cubans’ vast experience in the art of shaking cocktails and mixing hard drinks.