February 28, 2016

Possible malternatives,
our last Cuban rums

I mean, the last rums we’ve tasted while in Cuba. So far, our favourite has been the Santiago de Cuba 11yo (Onze), while the Vigia 18yo was a close second. It also seemed that most Cuban bartenders were agreeing on the Santiago 11. Let’s see if we’ll find one last gem today…

Sao Can (40%, OB, Cuba, aguardiente de cana, +/-2015)

Not quite rum, but it’s what some bartenders use to make the famous Canchánchara cocktail. I could not find any serious definition of what Cuban aguardiente is, as opposed to rum, but what seems plausible is that aguardiente is made out of cane juice, or canes that have already been pressed (like marc), while Cuban rum is made out of molasses. Colour: white. Nose: we’re not that far from mezcal, which is good news. There are whiffs of damp earth and antiseptic, the whole being rather rough, but characterful. Also hints of celeriac eau-de-vie. Mouth: still rough and spirity, with hints of sucrose, but this earthy side that never stops growing is most pleasant. May need ice. Finish: medium, with some artichoke, celeriac, earth, and even some gentian. Quite lovely! Comments: unusual, but it beats many a Cuban white rum in my book., because of its dry and earthy profile. SGP:362 – 75 points.

Ron Cubay ‘Carta Dorada’ (38%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

Said to be 4 years old. Colour: gold. Nose: quite dry, with a lot of coffee beans and quite some bitter chocolate, or cocoa. Some more vegetal notes as well, perhaps some artichokes like in the Sao Can (both are made by the same company). Quite interesting so far. Mouth: sadly, it’s rather too spirity and oaky (a feeling of oak chips). What’s more, there’s a sucrosity that’s not too pleasant. Finish: short, always with this feeling of oak chips. The aftertaste is a little bitter, drying, and a kind of hot. Comments: doesn’t feel very ‘top range’. Not too bad, though. SGP:361 – 65 points.

Ron Cubay ‘Anejo Suave’ (38%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

This one’s said to be 5 years old. By the way, Cubay’s made where they also make Havana Club. Colour: dark gold. Nose: kind of evanescent, with a little coffee liqueur, a bit like in the Carta Dorada. Notes of corn syrup, plus molasses honey (sadly, most of the honey they’re selling you in Cuba is actually molasses-based, no bees having been involved in the making of it). Mouth: very sweet and sugary, quite in the style of Zacapa and consorts, but with less complexity and depth. Quite a lot of burnt sugar. Finish: short and sugary. Comments: not quite the kind of suavity I enjoy, and not quite the better side of Cuba’s rums in my opinion. SGP:720 – 55 points.

Corsario ‘Palma’ (36%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

A very cheap rum in Cuba, it’ll cost you around 4.5 CUC (convertible pesos) a litre, so around 4 Euros. It’s made by Tecnoazucar (scary name, isn’t it) who are also making Mulata and Vigia. Colour: white wine. Nose: wood alcohol and a little butter, possibly from an oak-treatment, then rather grass and paper. No fruitiness whatsoever. Mouth: it’s okay! Sugarcane, plain sugar, a little grass, and this olive-y feeling that I usually enjoy. There are roughnesses as well, which is kind of pleasant. Finish: short, rather grassy, with a salty touch. Comments: as I often write, we’ve tasted worse spirits. I think this baby would be perfectly all right in a mojito or something, thanks to its grassy side. SGP:241 - 59 points.

Santero (40%, OB, Cuba, aguardiente de cana, +/-2015)

Another aguardiente, by the most popular brand for cocktails in Cuba. It is very cheap, and is largely used in mojitos. It’s made at Distileria Paraiso in Sancti Spiritus. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: a raw and rough sugarcane-y style, very herbal, slightly medicinal, and pretty ‘mezcaly’, just like the aguardiente Sao Can. Very close to the raw materials, which we always enjoy. Mouth: extremely rough, which is great! Little sweetness, rather a huge cane-y profile, very grassy, olive-y, and salty. We’re not too far from some white agricoles from la Martinique or Guadeloupe. This will give character to any cocktail. Finish: medium, very grassy, with more lime and lemon this time. Comments: you could add bubbles and a few mint leaves, and you’d almost get a high-strength mojito. I like! SGP:261 - 79 points.

Mulata ‘Silver Dry’ (40%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

I wouldn’t say Mulata’s got the highest reputation in Cuba. Colour: white. Nose: it’s suffering a lot after the Santero, nosing much lighter and unpleasantly mellower, with whiffs of wood alcohol that aren’t any pleasanter. It’s pretty much a no-nose rum, I’d say. Mouth: not much. Sugary and oddly lemony (Schweppes Lemon), with no backbone and a grassiness that goes astray. Some notes of banana sweets, which isn’t much better. Finish: short, a little bitter. Burnt grass? Marshmallows in the aftertaste. Comments: some shy rum that will desperately need compadres. Such as Coca-Cola. SGP:321 - 45 points.

Mulata ‘Añejo Blanco’ (38%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

I don’t think the Silver Dry was aged, but this one was. It’s also sold at a lighter strength. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: a slightly rounder version of the Silver Dry, just as harmless and innocuous, although there are a few notes of… wait, smoked salmon? Well, it tends to improve a bit with some breathing, with hints of cut cactus and grass, plus a little banana once again. It’s okay. Mouth: sweeter and fruitier. Jelly babies, banana sweets, marshmallows, all that… Lacks texture and structure, but it’s very easy and, again, harmless. Finish: short and sweet. Comments: oh, just saw on the brand’s official website that this baby was ‘the result of mixing aged sugar cane spirit, Rums Bases, Fine Alcohol A, Demineralized water and Preservatives’. That explains a lot – but don’t we like such transparency and honesty? Kind of? SGP:420 - 50 points.

And a very last one. Dear Santiago de Cuba, the floor is yours!

Santiago de Cuba 12 yo ‘Extra Añejo’ (40%, OB, Cuba, +/-2015)

Will this baby be even more to my liking than the excellent 11 yo? In theory, the answer is yes (the price is 50 CUC vs. 40 CUC for the 11), but that’s no sure bet, remember we liked the 20 yo much less than the 11. Colour: amber. Nose: quality for sure, with first plenty of chocolate and raisins, as well as a vanilla-ed oakiness that screams bourbon. Then we have raisins and praline, then perhaps a little sawdust and more vanillin. A discreet grassiness keeps it straight and ‘frank’. Nice nose, in any case. Mouth: oh, too bad, there is some sugar! Or some kind of syrup, or raisin juice, or pineapple syrup… Or any proprietary mixture. That feels a little too much for me. A shame, because what’s behind that is quite lovely, fruity and firm at the same time, with good cane-iness. Finish: a little short, a little jammy. Bananas flambéed and pineapples in syrup. Comments: ite missa est, the 11 beats both the 12 and the 20 hands down. I mean, in my book. SGP:730 - 76 points.

Good, ya eso esta liquidado. We haven’t tried all Cuban rums of course, but I think around 25 of them is not a bad number. I could have sips of much older and much more expensive ones, but most have been a little flabby, and rather too ‘smooth and mellow’ for me. But I’ll try to look for more little Cuban aguardientes, I’ll see what I can find…

Check the index of all rums I've tasted so far

Possible malternatives, our last Cuban rums

Possible malternatives,
our last Cuban rums