Havana Club rum is undoubtedly one of the best worldwide. Its origins and the universe of its barrels, tastings, combination, aromas, mixtures and essences make up a very attractive philosophy of drinking linked to enjoyment. Many are the persons who come to Cuba looking for it, avid to get to know its history, its elaboration process, its secrets.To reveal those mysteries and approach the history of the elixir, the Havana Club Rum Museum was created (March 31, 2000), a marketing tool to complement the Havana Club International S.A. company’s sales strategy and to promote the good taste for a product linked to Cuban culture, a tie that is part of the brand’s image in the world.
Established in an elegant 18th century colonial mansion in the heart of Old Havana, the installation tells (and documents) the origins of Cuban run from when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492, something very few people know.
Through a guided tour, and different languages, in this institution visitors are shown each step of the production process of the prized beverage – from an original distillery and its aging section, to the tasting of the “Cuban Rum: Havana Club,” in a traditional bar from the 1930s.
Visitors live the rum experience in a singular and personalized way, since in the crowded museum they learn, in addition to the production process in its halls, to prepare a good mojito with renowned bartenders, dance to the rhythm of Cuban music in the Bar-Restaurant, appreciate the fruit of Havana Culture in the Art Gallery, choose their favorite souvenir in the specialized shop, as well as the Habano and Havana Rum combination they want.
For 18 years the museum has been receiving visitors from all over the world and makes each one of them an ambassador of Cuban culture and, of course, of the brand. Almost three million persons have visited the place. They have found the museum through different ways, some recommend the visit to their friends and they themselves repeat the visit, others through Internet on Facebook, or through another social media. Or they follow the recommendations of Trip Advisor, which considers it one of the most attractive places in Havana, and they decide to not let the opportunity go by to feel Cuba in the Havana Club way.
The building has several floors and is never empty. It is possible to find through its corridors people from diverse parts of the planet, for whom the tour is usually included in the packages created to get to know Havana. It is very much in demand by the travel agencies and individual tourists, and it especially seems to be liked by the French and Germans. Among the Latin Americans, one can especially mention the tourists from Argentina, Chile and Mexico, countries with a greater tradition of consuming alcoholic beverages and from where the brand’s best sales are reported.
Together with the history and explanation of the diverse products of the Havana Club portfolio, the museum provides the public with other added value services like cocktail making and the tastings and combinations, with the aim of showing how rum can be appreciated in a different way, getting to know it in depth and thus meet the fundamental objective of the project: to be the shop window of the Havana Club brand, which is used in the world’s bars.
If you’re passing through the Historic Center of Old Havana and come across the Havana Club Museum, you can make a brief visit. In the interior patio you can make your own mojito, or ask for the house’s emblematic drink: Guarabana: Havana Club Añejo 3 Years, plus sugarcane juice (guarapo) and orange juice. In any case, you will have enjoyed, up to here, a good swig of history and culture.
Authors
Cecilia Crespo, 
cecilia 
