Blunty3000 was invited to Brisbane Australia for the launch of Havana Club rum into Aussie bars for the first time, and to have a tasting session with Ben Davidson the Cocktail Chef and brand ambassador. Ben was tasked with which educating my beer and whiskey drinkin' ass on how rum can be much more than the "kick you in the back of the brain" kinda drink I've usually drank it as. And boy-howdy did I learn something (something besides the fact that I never knew how SEXY salsa dancing is! ;) ).


Havana Club is a brand of rum, made in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The brand was established by José Arechabala in 1878. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the distillery and company was nationalised by the Cuban government; subsequently, the Arechabala family left for Spain, then emigrated to the United States. Since 1994 it has been produced by Havana Club International, a 50:50 joint venture between Pernod Ricard and the Cuban government
The Havana Club brand is sold outside of Cuba in conjunction with Pernod Ricard Havana Club is not sold in the United States, however, due to the United States embargo against Cuba. Bacardi sells a different rum in the U.S., also called Havana Club but unrelated to the Cuban version. The Bacardi product, which is made in Puerto Rico, has been the subject of trademark violation litigation by Pernod Ricard.