Type White Rum | Producer Havana Club International | Region Cuba > Havana | ABV 40% | Volume 700 ml | Price (AUD) ~$45
House notes
Havana Club 3 Year is the bottle that will change your opinion of rum cocktails forever, and it sells for about the same as a round of Bacardi. Aged three years in American oak, filtered back to clear, it keeps just enough weight and vanilla to matter without going yellow. Lightly grassy, a little banana leaf, a long mineral finish. It is built for mixing, which is lucky because it is excellent at it. A Daiquiri made with Havana Club 3 is an entirely different drink to a Daiquiri made with the cheap stuff, and you will not go back. Also works beautifully in a Mojito, where the grassy note matches the mint.
What it pairs with
Daiquiri, Mojito, Pina Colada, Cuba Libre, hot rum punch in winter. Basically the working white rum of any summer-oriented home bar. Food pairs lean Caribbean and Southeast Asian: jerk chicken, prawn laksa, carnitas tacos, green papaya salad, or anything where lime and chilli are doing the heavy lifting. Also very good in a tall iced tea punch for a big group. Less good for neat sipping; it is built for the shaker, not the coupe. Buy one bottle and you are set for the season.
About the producer
Havana Club is distilled in San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba, as a joint venture between the Cuban government and Pernod Ricard. It is illegal to import into the United States, which is why every American cocktail bar either smuggles it or pretends they don’t need it. We have no such problem.