Post #771371 by AceExplorer on Thu, Dec 22, 2016 7:42 AM

Pictured below is my rum haul from my recent trip to Cuba. I want this post to be helpful to others who will be making the trip to Cuba in the not-too-distant future. GO if you can, and do it soon. The future of US travel to Cuba is still a bit uncertain, and you can see the country ahead of whatever deals Americans will be making to build and invest there.

I went as a solo traveler by small 700-passenger cruise ship Adonia (Fathom.org) for two reasons - I was able to get a Cuban visa very quickly and at the last minute, and I knew I could also haul more rum and cigars back by ship than if I had flown in. Plus the cruise fare included cultural and historical seminars, person-to-person tours, lodging, meals, rum tastings, a Spanish language phrase mini-seminar, camaraderie with other rum/cigar/travel fans, etc. And I'm a big fan of the more intimate small-ship cruising experience. I also bought my ticket from a discount site, so I didn't pay an outrageous price.

Note my choice of bringing back almost entirely Santiago rums. I already have a decent stock of Havana Club at home, so on this trip I chose to engage Cubans who are rum-knowledgeable including the head bartender at the Habana Libre hotel (former Habana Hilton before the revolution.) They all told me that Havana Club was popular with tourists but is over-rated and that they themselves definitely prefer to drink Santiago. The Santiago rum is made in the former Bacardi distillery in Santiago de Cuba. In the near future, I will be comparing Havana Club rum with Santiago rum and sharing tasting notes in another thread here on TC.

Rum is cheap in Cuba --- silver starts at $3.50/bottle, aged starts around $8 a bottle. Older bottlings are available, but in my opinion, aren't worth paying the premium prices. There are other good non-Cuban rums available in the US for much less, so I focused on the standard/common offerings with one exception - the Santiago 11 Year which was highly-recommended by two rum-knowledgeable folks I met.

At this time, all restrictions have been lifted on how much rum and how many cigars you can bring back. I very honestly declared $400 of rum and cigars with US Customs, and all they said was, "Oh, that's nice! You're going to enjoy those!" No duties or other fees were charged, and it was as if I was invisible.

I'll re-post this trip report info in another Cuba or Cuban rum thread here on TC soon, and with more details.

The rums I brought back:
(3) Santiago White,
(4) Santiago Anejo,
(1) Havana Club 7 year, (gift for a cow-orker)
(1) Santiago 11 year.
Total of 9 bottles. I could have brought back more, but didn't think to take bigger luggage on the trip.

The Santiago White, front label.

The Santiago Anejo, front label.

The Havana Club 7 box, front label.

The Santiago 11, front label.

Gawd I had a great time. Go if you can as soon as you can. You won't regret it.

[ Edited by: AceExplorer 2016-12-22 07:45 ]