Every August 16 is celebrated as International Rum Day, a beverage that is a must when talking about Cuba. To commemorate the date, TTC had an exclusive conversation with Corporación Cuba Ron S.A., an organization that has established itself as a producer of great brands that distinguish the Caribbean country.

How does the corporation celebrate International Rum Day?

Corporación Cuba Ron S.A. celebrates International Rum Day with the joy of representing Cuban light rum worldwide, a symbol of the most authentic cultural and identity traditions of our nation.

But it also celebrates it with the strengths achieved in all these years of work that allow us today to position ourselves among the leading producers and marketers of spirits worldwide, with the fundamental support of our business partners and the knowledge of the Masters that make up the Movement of Cuban Light Rum Masters.

This date is also a reason to take stock of how far we have come and to set new goals that will undoubtedly make us work even harder to maintain what we have achieved and to go one step further each time, not without first thanking the thousands of workers who today make up the great family of this corporation, and who have made our industries and Cuban light rum part of their hearts, devoting themselves to this work with commitment but also with national pride.

What place does rum occupy in the national identity?

A source of inspiration for poets and artists, a symbol for Cubans and visitors to these places. Photo: Corporación Cuba Ron S.A.
Rum is a symbol of Cuban culture, as it is one of Cuba’s favorite drinks to be enjoyed on its own or in cocktails. In addition, it has been a faithful companion of Cubans for more than 150 years of history and tradition. It has been present in moments of joy and celebration, and has also been a faithful companion in moments of sadness and pain of the Cuban people. It has been a source of inspiration for poets, writers and artists in general, as well as for intellectuals who nurtured patriotic thoughts and culture. Rum runs through the veins of all Cubans as an indissoluble part of their identity and represents the cheerful, hospitable, multicolored character that characterizes them.

Since its origins it has been closely linked to all the social and historical stages of our people, it is perceived as sensorially ardent and deep as the temperament of Cubans, conceived from mixtures in the same way that Cuban society is composed of an influence of several interrelated ethnicities, hence the importance of disseminating the history of Cuban rum as a cultural and historical expression.

Cuban rum (and sugarcane brandy as the product that gives it origin) is deeply rooted in the popular imagination, it is part of myths, but also of realities, it is used in Afro-Cuban religious ceremonies, it is used in all kinds of festivities, rum is not consumed from a bottle without pouring the quota of the gods on the floor, it is used for the preparation of remedies, syrups and other preparations for the cure of diseases, it has a marked traditional line. It was present in our wars of independence where it was consumed as a ration of soldiers to strengthen the body and spirit, but also to heal wounds.

Undoubtedly, it has a long tradition both in its production and in the consumption habits of Cubans. Cuban cocktails were developed from it, which also has a wide national and international diffusion and constitutes in fact another tradition within Cuban gastronomy. It is also one of the country’s main export products.

Rum and Habano become ambassadors of Cuba in any scenario, there is no finer and more grateful gift than a bottle of Cuban rum delivered with the charisma that characterizes us, which is why we could not advance in the production of new rums if we do not safeguard the legacy received by previous generations.

What products currently make up Cuba Ron’s product portfolio?

Perla del Norte and Santa del Norte join Cubay rum and other proposals in Cuba Ron’s broad portfolio of products. Photo: Corporación Cuba Ron S.A.
The product portfolio marketed by Cuba Ron S.A. covers several categories within spirits. In the domestic market we market the Cubay brand with eight assortments ranging from the traditional Carta Blanca to extra old and extra aged rums with recognized national and international awards, as well as a wide range of 12 Cubay liqueurs for the development of cocktails.

We also distribute the Perla del Norte and Santa del Norte brands, with the three usual assortments aimed mainly at the hotel sector. Also recognized by the market are Isla del Tesoro, Aguardiente Sao Can, Elixir Cubay 33 and the range of Soroa Wines.

Rum in Cuba, more than a daily reality, is also a legend. Photo: Corporación Cuba Ron S.A.
We are also distributors of the Santiago de Cuba brand in the national territory. In the international market we market the brands Cubay, Perla del Norte, Isla del Tesoro, Kawama, Sao Can and the Eminente brand under the International Economic Partnership Contract.

How much does this unique, traditional knowledge, inherited from generation to generation, contribute to the authenticity of Cuban rum?

Rum masters, souls of a living tradition. Photo: Corporación Cuba Ron S.A.
During the first years of the 19th century, attempts began to improve the quality of Cuban spirits and rums as a result of the increase in exports, mainly to Spain. There were many attempts and modifications made by the then producers to achieve a more refined rum that would break away from the traditional way of rum produced in the Caribbean, considered as heavy rums due to the way the fermentation and distillation processes were carried out. In 1862, the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country offered to award a medal for studies on the manufacture of spirits as part of the program of an Exhibition it was preparing. By that date, a rum of superior quality was already being produced in Santiago de Cuba: a light, transparent product free of undesirable odors, which is why this date is taken as the beginning of the production of Cuban light rum with its own sensory characteristics that evidenced its origin in the sugar cane spirit, but made in a different way.

Rum production in this period also extended geographically to the central and western areas of Cuba, incorporating more producers who contributed with their experience to the improvement and refinement of this light rum.

All this empirical knowledge was transmitted generationally among the ancestors of today’s Cuban Rum Masters. Therein lies its importance: the zeal, discipline and rigor in the work led to the creation of a rum with a different aroma and flavor, with an unmistakable imprint internationally recognized since 1876, when it participated for the first time in an International Exposition in Philadelphia, United States, until today, where it continues to be recognized in all the countries of the world where it is marketed.

This knowledge is our greatest legacy. The uninterrupted chain is what imprints that seal of authenticity and turns it into a cultural and identity element of our nation. With their vocation and dedication, the Maestros safeguard all this accumulated experience, improve it and transmit it, but without altering its essence, an art that maintains the essential balance between the new and the traditional.

The team of highly qualified Cuban Rum Masters is one of the greatest strengths of Cuba Rum and of the country today. Their knowledge constitutes a high added value as it is part of a knowledge transmitted from generation to generation, ranging from the protection of aging cellars, knowing their contents and characteristics, the history of each barrel, to knowing which blends produce a certain appearance, aroma, flavor and texture. This knowledge combines science, tradition, innovation and sensitivity, together with the particularity that distinguishes each Master in the defense and interpretation of Cuban rum and makes them unique.

Precisely, the fact that this knowledge is passed down from generation to generation is what has turned it into a culture, since each Master, in addition to preserving this inherited culture, contributes new elements that increasingly turn rum production into a complex and unique process, a spiral of uninterrupted development that continually reinforces its authenticity as a genuinely Cuban product.

Cocktails are another of the areas that distinguish the quality of Cuban rum and have contributed to its worldwide fame.

Rum masters, souls of a living tradition. Photo: Corporación Cuba Ron S.A.
During the first years of the 19th century, attempts began to improve the quality of Cuban spirits and rums as a result of the increase in exports, mainly to Spain. There were many attempts and modifications made by the then producers to achieve a more refined rum that would break away from the traditional way of rum produced in the Caribbean, considered as heavy rums due to the way the fermentation and distillation processes were carried out. In 1862, the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country offered to award a medal for studies on the manufacture of spirits as part of the program of an Exhibition it was preparing. By that date, a rum of superior quality was already being produced in Santiago de Cuba: a light, transparent product free of undesirable odors, which is why this date is taken as the beginning of the production of Cuban light rum with its own sensory characteristics that evidenced its origin in the sugar cane spirit, but made in a different way.

Rum production in this period also extended geographically to the central and western areas of Cuba, incorporating more producers who contributed with their experience to the improvement and refinement of this light rum.

All this empirical knowledge was transmitted generationally among the ancestors of today’s Cuban Rum Masters. Therein lies its importance: the zeal, discipline and rigor in the work led to the creation of a rum with a different aroma and flavor, with an unmistakable imprint internationally recognized since 1876, when it participated for the first time in an International Exposition in Philadelphia, United States, until today, where it continues to be recognized in all the countries of the world where it is marketed.

This knowledge is our greatest legacy. The uninterrupted chain is what imprints that seal of authenticity and turns it into a cultural and identity element of our nation. With their vocation and dedication, the Maestros safeguard all this accumulated experience, improve it and transmit it, but without altering its essence, an art that maintains the essential balance between the new and the traditional.

The team of highly qualified Cuban Rum Masters is one of the greatest strengths of Cuba Rum and of the country today. Their knowledge constitutes a high added value as it is part of a knowledge transmitted from generation to generation, ranging from the protection of aging cellars, knowing their contents and characteristics, the history of each barrel, to knowing which blends produce a certain appearance, aroma, flavor and texture. This knowledge combines science, tradition, innovation and sensitivity, together with the particularity that distinguishes each Master in the defense and interpretation of Cuban rum and makes them unique.

Precisely, the fact that this knowledge is passed down from generation to generation is what has turned it into a culture, since each Master, in addition to preserving this inherited culture, contributes new elements that increasingly turn rum production into a complex and unique process, a spiral of uninterrupted development that continually reinforces its authenticity as a genuinely Cuban product.

Cocktails are another of the areas that distinguish the quality of Cuban rum and have contributed to its worldwide fame.