Havana Club Selección de Maestros

A unicorn! At least to little ole American me. This bottle comes with tremendous gratitude thanks to a fellow rum aficionado.

So this is a high end Cuban rum, comprised of a blend of Cuban rums aged 10-15 years in bourbon oak. The blend reportedly selected each year by the Maestros of Havana Club. It is available in most rum shops outside of the US. It is unlike most Cuban and Cuban style rums in that it is bottled at 45% ABV instead of the ho-hum usual 40%. So what is it like?

On the nose first off I get straight ethanol which immediately fades to Oak, faint Butterscotch, then a rush of Pear and Cinnamon. The nose is lighter than I anticipated or hoped for and initially it made me a bit concerned that the palate would be light and underwhelming as well…

Then I took a sip. The palate is far more expressive than the nose would lead you to believe this rum to be. I get Oak, Cinnamon, and Pear. Still, taken straight from the Glencairn, the palate initially didn’t open up as much as I suspected it could. So I poured it over an ice ball in a temperature controlled cup…and the palate blossomed into a wonderful array of delightful tastes. With a touch of water, the palate of this rum becomes rich and intense - oddly more so than straight up. I get the aforementioned oak, cinnamon, and pear, but now also strong notes of Porto, Toffee, Tobacco, Caramel, Bourbon, and Brown sugar. The palate reminds me quite a bit of Panama Pacific 15 Year but it is perhaps a touch more expressive than that. In a way it also reminds me of a Foursquare rum with the intensity of the bourbon oak notes. This is absolutely delightful over an ice ball, a wonderful expression of what a good Cuban Ronero can do.

The finish is medium in length and starts with light notes of Butterscotch. As you sip on it, more notes begin to linger - Oak, and then Port. After putting the glass down a while you are left with a sort of pleasant Pipe tobacco note in your mouth like if you just finished smoking a pipe.

This is a pretty great experience for those who enjoy Spanish/Cuban style rums. I get that some here get bored with the Cuban style. But I don’t…at all. Don’t get me wrong I love my Jamaicans and my Agricoles, but those experiences do not in any way dull my enjoyment of a well crafted Cuban style rum. The Spanish colony rums, and especially the Cuban roneros, are able to create a wonderful intensity in their earthy and dessert notes, even without added sugar that invokes a real sense of enjoyment and relaxation to my senses. This rum is an excellent example of that, and might I add, without any added sugar.

Interestingly, this is one of those rums which becomes far more expressive and flavorful with a touch of water than it is on its own. It seems to be made to sip over an ice ball, and I imagine it pairs immaculately with a Cohiba, though my cigar days are in the past.

For my fellow Americans who are normally barred from getting actual Cuban rums, this rum matches up extremely closely with (Don Pancho’s) Panama Pacific 15 Year. So if you want this experience but can’t actually get this rum you can get nearly the exact same experience with Panama Pacific 15 Year. This rum is maybe slightly more intense in flavor than that and the Panama Pacific has a tapioca note that isn’t present here, but otherwise they are pretty darn close.

Overall this rum is really quite a treat. It is not the single greatest rum I have ever had, but I rate it pretty highly.

Short Description: the very essence of the Cuban style and a portrait of the island itself. The capabilities of the expressions of sugar it’s forms and tobacco.

Nose: Alcohol, Oak, light Butterscotch, Pear, Cinnamon

Palate: Oak, Cinnamon, Pear, Port, Toffee, Tobacco, Caramel, Bourbon, Brown sugar, rich and decadent

Finish: (medium) Butterscotch, Oak, Port, long afterwards Tobacco

Im Geruch ein wenig Marille, Pfirsich, Tabak und Alkohol
Im Geschmack Früchte, Rosinen, Tabak, Holz, ein wenig Vanille und ein wenig feurig, hat auch immerhin 45% Alkohol, nicht süß.
Im ganzen Gesehen ein sehr guter Tropfen der in meiner Sammlung einen fixen Platz bekommen wird !

Un detalle que me trajo un buen amigo. Compré unas piedras para enfriar el trago con el fin de poder degustarlo en su plenitud. Buen cuerpo, buen retro gusto. Otro que vale la pena

One of the tastiest rums I've had. Very smooth and wonderful aftertaste. Easy to drink straight up.

J adore suffisamment complexe et bien balancer plusieurs saveurs vient au nez et au papille. Acheté à cuba pour moins cher qu au Canada. Il est fort en alcool,45%, un petit gout de cannelle, tabac, de poivre et épice.

With some of the cheaper Havana clubs being some of my favs I expected way more at 3 times the price. $150 here.
The canister is pretty crappy for a bottle in this price range. Very cheaply made.
The bottle looks ok, but the cork on mine is very loose.
Smell, smells like diluted isopropyl alcohol & looks the same when swirled in the glass with an oily residue left clinging to the sides. Not a bad thing. Just means a longer aftertaste.
Taste. Was a shock to me at 1st. BITTER! yuck. Even after adding copious amounts of coke the bitterness stood out like dogs balls. Still I have to add it was pretty smooth & drinks very easy. Have given it a couple of weeks to oxidise & the results are pretty much similar to when 1st opened except to a lesser degree now. + I've gotten used to the bitterness.
Won't buy again, but would, if it was 3 times cheaper, just to have something different occasionally. But at the current price I'd rather grab 3 bottles of the reservea or 7 yr old. Or even better yet, try something totally new to me.

Update: Got used to the bitterness now & started to enjoy it, so moved it up 1 place

Havana Club Selección de Maestros Rum skuffede mig virkelig meget, jeg er lige ved at sige - skrive, at den burde drikkes med cola, men efter at have gensmagt den, har den vundet meget - eller min smag ændret sig.

thank you to the community for this recommendation within this brand - its spot on! Great value at $45 CAN (April 2024) and a very approachable sipper. What really is noticeable is the smooth taste and long finish of this rum. great flavor and not as sweet as the other cask finishes I have been enjoying lately. Different in not a bad way but a complimentary offering to my rum journey. I have no hesitation in my recommendation. Cheers.

God något kryddig rom som man vill sitta länge med.

Na Havana Club nečekaně suché a velmi dobré; kvalita vynikne až po delším sólo popíjení bez prokládání jinými rumy. Při jednopanákové degustaci mi přišel vcelku průměrný a nezajímavý a teprve když jsem se k němu vrátil na celý večer, byl s postupným popíjením čím dál lepší a lepší, až mě nakonec zcela nadchnul. Po otevření to nevoní vůbec nijak (=smrdí to jako líh), ale časem se to překulí do příjemně zatuchlé melasy s vlašskými ořechy. Chuť je nevlezlá a lahodná a rozvíjí se do rozličných poloh spíše vánočních či podzimních; žádný letní ovocný mejdan od toho nečekejte, spíš něco ke krbu. Navzdory 45 % to velice dobře klouže do krku.
Od téhle značky, kterou už od bolševické éry vnímám jako něco zcela podřadného, jsem nic podobného věru nečekal, takže z tohoto hlediska to byla naprosto mimořádná zkušenost.