Havana Club Anejo Reserva

[Jason Perlow]

From my recent trip to Canada I brought back a bottle of HC Anejo Reserva as well as a bottle of the HC 7.

I've tasted both, and while the HC 7 is older, I like the finish better on the Anejo Reserva. Comments?

FWIW I couldnt find a single bottle of HC 15 or cuban Matusalem at the LCBO locations in Ottawa. Lots of nice french Rhums though, the big LCBO in Ottawa on Rideau has a really nice stock of aged Dillon.

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

I like it, seems to be smoother. Think it is blended from various aged barrels.

[DennisM]

Beware of Matusalem 15. The true Cuban Matusalem is extreeemmmmeeelllyyyy hard to find; it is no longer produced. If any of you see it, I'd love to find a bottle (or 12!). There is another Matusalem Gran Reserva that is from Florida...you have to be careful since the wording on the bottle sounds like it's from Cuba ... it is not! I understand the true Cuban Matusalem is bottled in a slender clear bottle; the stuff from Fla is in a shorter dark glass bottle.

Oh, and yep, the Anejo Reserva is a better rum that the HC7, in my opinion also. But hey, I sure wouldn't kick either of them out of a glass! HC15?? I still have an unopened bottle sitting around here somewhere ...

[Jason Perlow]

Actually the Florida Matusalem Gran Reserva is an excellent rum and a damn good value if you can find it for under $30. In florida I was able to get it for about $25.

[Kristian]

In Finland, Gran Reserva is about 35 euros and it hurts my wallet every time I buy it, but what can I do?

[Ed Hamilton]

I agree that the Florida Matusalem Gran Reserva is pretty good and I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to replace after I drank my last bottles of it. Oh well, part of the research is finding sources that we can afford.

[Dom Costa]

I've been serving the whole range of Havana Club rums for 15 years, and I've experienced during this time that the flavors of all of them changes continuosly, for instance I kept a bottle of HC 3yo that was for sale 10 years ago, and let me tell you it tastes very different than the one on the market today, not to mention that once I've poured an HC 5yo ( not in the market any longer), finished the bottle, opened a new one ,poured another shot, and the color was different, one was darker than the other..... any comments?

[Ed Hamilton]

Havana Club is one of those distilleries that hasn't gotten too worked up about consistency of color etc. from one batch to the next. As you can imagine rum ages differently from barrel to barrel and from year to year depending in part on the weather and the age of the barrels. Rum barrels are reused many times, and the majority of the barrels for the whole industry come from the US. But the State Department of the freest country in the world refuses to allow shipments of such necessities as rum aging barrels to their southern neighbor, forcing distillers like Havana Club to use what they have. Some of those barrels have been around for more than 40 years.

Most distillers add at least some caramel coloring to their products for consistency so that all bottles on the shelf will be consistent. It sure is a lot easier for the sales people in the stores if they don't have to explain why the color has changed. Imagine if the color of say, CocaCola changed from month to month.

The truth of the matter is that most rums change from time to time. As distilleries are upgraded the profile of the fresh rhum has to change. And blends change due to availability of the aged reserves. I know of several products that have changed blends in the recent past and lost market share because the consumers noticed the difference and didn't like it.

The good news is that almost every distillery is increasing their aged reserves which is quite a task considering that they won't be selling that rum for as much as ten years, or even more. Can you imagine running a business where you made a product, then stored it (in containers that were expected to loose from 4 to 10% per year) for three to ten years before you could hope to sell it?

And while you're storing your product you also have to insure it and the warehouse, pay your employees, continue to make more rum and adjust your forecast for demand, sales, and the economy five years from now. And if you start a distillery chances are that you won't be able to sell any of your new rum for at least a year or longer. No wonder the number of distilleries is decreasing.

There has only been one new substantial distillery built in the Caribbean in the last twenty years. Fortunately that one is doing well, but the owner had a loooong history of blending and selling rum, and was selling the most popular white rum in Barbados for many years. He also was selling the most popular dark rum on the island at the time.

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

Ron Havana Club Añejo Reserva

Not my tasting notes, only cut & paste:

Tasting Notes: Añejo Reserva has a lovely amber colour. This Cuban rum first manifests a floral bouquet and aromas of vanilla and light tobacco, then the more robust flavours appear, resulting from long ageing in barrels. Anejo Reserva opens up into strongly flavourful spirits that reveal complex, lasting aromas of cacao, coffee, tobacco and spices. Añejo Reserva is consumed as a liqueur. The complexity of its aromas are fully brought out by adding an ice cube or by allowing it to open up for a few minutes in the glass.