Havana Club Añejo Clásico Puerto Rican Rum

 


Havana Club Añejo Clásico Puerto Rican Rum

    Before we get started, I'd just like to briefly explain why I picked up this bottle. Simply put, you cannot legally acquire a true Cuban rum in the United States at the moment because of the trade embargo dating all the way back to the 60s. This is a horrible shame in Tiki drink culture, and rum culture in general, because cuban rum is called for a lot in drinks, and has it's own characteristics that lots of people look for. Havana club claims this rum to be made with a 1934 Cuban formula, but now manufactured in Puerto Rico. This would more or less allow you to get a very Cuban styled rum in the United States. In addition to that, this was a very reasonably priced bottle at my local ABC store.
    Now that my rum has had time to chill as I type that, let's get to the notes! A little rubbing alcohol on the nose, but also some nutmeg, a little banana, maybe a bit of a nutty sweetness, like a pecan pie or something in that vein. Very soft mouth feel, not quite as smooth as I had hoped, I get a lot of brown sugar first, followed by a slightly sweetened alcohol note, it's honestly a bit abrupt in the palate, and stronger than I would like. I think any sort of mixer would at the very least round the edges off that, but unfortunately this probably won't be a sipping rum for me. The finish is mellow vanilla and almond. I wanted to like this rum more, but the mid palate is a bit too sharp for me personally. I'll still be mixing with it, should be fine for that purpose, but I had hoped I could sip on it. I think this is probably a 7/10


As always, if you have any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, or comments, I'd love to hear them down below! -Sam

Update Jan. 8th 2023

    Small update, I'm trying this rum again, but mixed with a nice, local root beer. It hides the weird mid palate that I wasn't fond of. However I also tried this root beer with about 4oz root beer, 1oz Havana Club, and 1oz Smith and Cross. And that was a mistake. The smith and cross funk came through way stronger than anything else, so it was just sweetened foot flavor. Too much for me. Be careful when mixing your rums, make sure the flavors make sense together. Cheers, -Sam!


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