This is the first cuban rum to reach my site. And what a
cuban to start with. Allegedly this is Castro's favourite rum. That is however
nothing I have had any luck confirming. You’ll just have to the internets word
for it I guess.
The brand Ron Santiago de Cuba resides in the factory that
used to house Ron Matusalem before the cuban revolution. During the revolution
Matusalem went in to exile to avoid being nationalised by Castro's regime. And
that made room for the birth of Santiago de Cuba.
Somewhere I have found information that in addition to the
old Matusalem factory Santiago de Cuba also utilises the old cuban Bacardi
factory. Again I have had no luck confirming this.
I have had no luck tracking down a website of the company,
so if you would like more information on the subject I will have to refer you
to the almighty Google.
Presentation
Presentation
The box is very shiny with black, red and gold graphics. The
amount of gold should be enough to attract your attention on the store shelf.
Apart from the product specifications and a medium long sales
pitch written with some sort of bad
handwriting font making it almost
impossible to read, there is nothing else on the box except for the company
logo.
The nice solid bar room bottle has a nice heavy feel to it –
which I do like in a bottle – and the label has a nice simple layout of only
the most relevant information. The back label repeats the sales pitch from the
side of the box – but only the spanish version.
My only beef with this bottle is the top of it. First of all
there is no cork – only a plastic screw cap. In fact the top two inches of the
bottle is dressed in plastic taking away some of the quality feel. Last but not
least the opening of the bottle is blocked with a plastic diffuser.
Seriously I do not understand what the need for this
diffuser is. I do not have any experience in bar tending so I really can’t say
what is is good for. But buying a somewhat premium product to have the bottle
disgraced by this sort of cheap plastic stuff is quite the letdown.
The rum it self is a nice mahogany thing and a quick swirl
reveals a lighter rum with fast and skinny legs.
Nose
Nose
First of a punch in the face of children's glue which quickly
gives room for nougat, orange peel and perhaps a little eau de vie. After a
breath of air the molasses start coming out rounding it all off nicely.
Taste
Taste
A rum quite light in nature. At first it comes off quite
spicy with oak, cinnamon, orange zest and rock candy being the most clear participants.
As with the nose, the molasses comes out when given a little time to breathe along with green bananas.
Finish
Finish
The lightness of the rum lets it leave the scene of the
crime almost undetected. The only evidence of its visit is long lasting spices.
There is no sting or pain and a few minutes later you will almost have forgot
that it was ever here – if it wasn’t for the pleasant buzz.
Rating and final thoughts
Rating and final thoughts
All in all this is a very nice rum. Pleasant in all aspects
and a solid sipping experience. It is not extreme in any kind of way which makes
it a good way to experience some of the best cuban I have ever tasted.
The taste profile is not as complex as other rums but what
it does, it does extremely well.
I found the bottle for around €40 which almost makes it a
complete steal in my book. I have yet to try a rum with better value for money.
This is quite extraordinary.
Further more I kind of like the story behind it all. The rum
being an invader to Matusalem and perhaps Bacardi factories and then making
this awesome product.
Rating: 76/100
Links
None official ones. Try google. You might be luckier than I
was.Links
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