Cuba, Here I Come!

Maybe Bacardi can simply change to making vodka, as that what they're basically selling.

Would there be a large quantity of those entering the US though? Since Cuban goods have been legal everywhere else I would imagine companies that small brands that don't already export would likely not be doing so to the US as well (throw in all the added taxes and such, which scare off small batch companies)

Here's a bit more info from Robert Burr in an interview with Fox News. Beyond Havana Club, he recommends Ron Cubay Añejo Reserva Especial.
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/12/18/easing-restrictions-could-mean-good-news-for-cuban-rum-drinkers/

Even IF these small brand Cuban rums could be exported into the US would they be in enough quantity to be purchased from any store, other than extra specialty liquor stores???

One thing I'm unclear on: Can you now legally bring Cuban rum to the US from other countries (ie, Mexico, Canada)? I assume so, but laws can be so complex I'm not 100% sure. Anyone know?

Not to be a downer, but: Since rum is the national liquor in Cuba and associated with a tropical lifestyle, the image and mystique of Cuban rum is greater than its substance.

Yes, Havana Club is really not the best rum from Cuba, in Germany you can get it on every supermarket shelf, like Bacardi here.

In general, Cuban rums have a hard time standing up to what else is already available out there, in my opinion. They are just not as flavorful as Demerara or other kinds. (the opposite is true for the cigars: They ARE indeed unsurpassed)

This of course won't matter much, since their unavailability here for so long will make them special once they do become available.

I have sampled them in Cuba, and in Europe - where you can get a greater variety of brands than in Cuba itself! Varadero 7 years is good.

Bingo, just like with many things, when people are told "You can't have this" they suddenly want it more. You do not see people clamor for Cuban goods outside of the US, they can buy them freely and their tastes do not keep them there.

Is Cuban rum overly romanticized? Oh, for sure. And the stories in "Potions of the Caribbean" sure didn't squash that notion.

But if you break rum down by style, and consider just the Spanish/Cuban variation, it's certainly among the cream of the crop. Sure, some of the Dominican rums are fine substitutes (along with a few others), but it will certainly be a pleasure some day to have another option to all the drek from Puerto Rico.

I'm not a huge fan of this style. You can indeed find much more flavorful rums in Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, et al. But as simple base cocktail spirits, the white and gold Spanish rums are crucial. So keeping it all in perspective, it's correct to not consider this blockbuster news. But I'm still quite happy at this turn of events.

Also, it's a bit more significant to those of us in South Florida, who some day may have a chance to hop down there for weekend jaunts to what we hope will be a revival of classic Cuban watering holes. But I'm sure that will be slow in coming, unfortunately.

If we were talking about a country like North Korea suddenly allowing the world in, that might actually happen. The rest of the world has been freely able to go to Cuba, and they also drink, so if the revival of old locations hasn't happened, it probably won't until the entire political climate changes. They most likely would view it as a celebration of the oppressive times before the revolution.

On 2014-12-19 23:50, wizzard419 wrote:
Bingo, just like with many things, when people are told "You can't have this" they suddenly want it more. You do not see people clamor for Cuban goods outside of the US, they can buy them freely and their tastes do not keep them there.

I dunno, I'll take a bottle of Havana Club 15 any day.

And some people love Guy Fieri... :D

No joke, I actually heard Guy recently utter the words "righteous oxtail." But, come to think of it, that could be a cool name for a band.

Back on topic, here's some more recent hand-wringing in the press:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/20/havana-club-import-us-cuba-puerto-rico
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/19/why-congress-hates-your-cuban-rum.html

On 2014-12-21 23:58, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
No joke, I actually heard Guy recently utter the words "righteous oxtail." But, come to think of it, that could be a cool name for a band.

Back on topic, here's some more recent hand-wringing in the press:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/20/havana-club-import-us-cuba-puerto-rico
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/19/why-congress-hates-your-cuban-rum.html

What a crazy, convoluted story! One wonders what is left of the original formula at this point, with the founders on the mainland, and the Cuban company in the hands of a big worldwide liquor conglomerate.

But in a way, it reflects the whole crazy history of Cuba, which in the 20th Century became a play ball of the world powers. The resulting idiosyncrasies, experienced daily on the island, are best answered with what became our standard reaction: " This is Cuba, Mister!" and a shrug of the shoulders

Nevertheless, it is a fun afternoon to take the tour of the Havana Club rum museum, with a complete step by step evolution from sugar cane to giant vats of molasses to the final distillation - and a little rum tasting in the adjacent bar:

Old copies of a bartender periodical:

The tiled floor of the bar:

Cuban rum is perhaps best enjoyed in a Daiquiri - which one of course best takes at the La Floridita bar :) :

(…but beware of the European tourist busses that herd them in and out within 10 minutes)

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2014-12-22 10:41 ]

This article echos BigBro's observation that American's fascination with Havana Club is more because it is 'tabu', and less because it is exceptionally fine.
Now You Can Legally Drink Cuban Rum—but Should You?
The writer samples 3 types of illicit Havana Club, from a bar owner's private storeroom. After remarks on each variety, he concludes:
"These rums are perfectly decent, but nothing to write home about. Unless you are writing a postcard from Varadero Beach. For the length of the embargo, the appeal of Havana Club was its exclusivity, its exotic aroma of a duty-free escapade, and the glamour of the desire for the forbidden—plus the tropical haze of myth traditionally adhering to anything remotely connected to Martha Gellhorn’s alcoholic first husband getting hammered at El Floridita. The bar owner is sad to see that era end, nostalgic for the fading of an amateur smuggling endeavor driven by nostalgia itself. Still, he agrees that Havana Club rums just aren’t great."

On 2014-12-22 11:03, Limbo Lizard wrote:
Now You Can Legally Drink Cuban Rum—but Should You?
The writer samples 3 types of illicit Havana Club

The "writer" Troy Patterson also did stories like.........
"What’s the Best Time to Tell a Gentleman I Have Herpes?"

I like Havana club.
The best way to find out is to put it up
in a blind taste test and see for yourself.

Or you can go on Troy Patterson's word sounds like he's an expert on everything, even herpes.
The link to Slate above locked up my computer for a short time so may want to pass on it.

The bottle in the center of first photo is the White rum from USA Bacardi don't
know if they even make that any more as there was a big stink about it
when it came out.
It was just white rum really but the bottle is cool, want to make a light out of it.

Looks like we have some 15 year coming soon.
But I have a guy who goes to Canada and has a private jet so he
has been brining some home.
The last time like Dec 20th he told customs he had the rum (two bottles) and they did not care.

I have no idea when would be the best time to tell your Gentleman friend you Have a$$ warts.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••**•
MERRY CHRISTMAS from TIKISKIP!

arriano ... I believe this article answers your question about legally bringing Cuban rum to the U.S. from other countries:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ap/ap/top-news/coming-soon-to-us-cuba-libre-with-real-cuban-rum/njYXK/
U.S. law still prohibits Americans from circumventing the limits by buying rum — or cigars or other liquor — in other countries and bringing them home.

bigbrotiki ... Nice photos! Looking forward to a Daiquiri at La Floridita some day.

tikiskip ... Quite a collection. Bacardi's Havana Club was supposed to be available in South Florida, but I never saw it. Thanks to friends, I have bottles of Añejo Blanco (which I consider one of my best white rums, right up there with Plantation 3 Stars), and Añejo Años 7 (which I rate among my better gold rums, right alongside Appleton V/X, Cockspur Five Star, Doorly’s X.O., et al.)

I'm awaiting delivery of Añejo Blanco and Añejo Especial, which I expect to be similarly solid mixing rums.

"tikiskip ... Quite a collection"
HA! I would say more of a dead soldier grave yard with more in the
garage.

“FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2009 photo, a bottle of Havana Club rum, center, sits on a shelf for sale at Pantry II Liquors in Miami.”

“In 1997, Bacardi bought the legal rights to the recipe and name of Havana Club, a popular rum created in 1935 by a Cuban family who eventually fled the Castro revolution. Bacardi used the recipe and name for a rum it distilled in Puerto Rico”

So that is different rum than rum from Cuba, Right?
But do they still sell USA Bacardi white rum here in the states?

I just opened that USA Bacardi white rum and did a side by side taste test of these two rums
seen below.
Don't know if this is the same recipe sold to Bacardi as this Havana Club rum shown here.
I can tell you this these are not the same rum, and The real Havana Club rum is much better
(The real Havana Club rum Seen right photo)
I'm no expert but this is my call, the USA Bacardi white rum (left) had a burn where as the real Havana Club rum was more smooth.

Now these are white rums so I never felt a taste test was a thing I would do for a white
booze as there is not much to them most times.
Guess I should know better as I've had many moonshines in my time and they are all very different.

That's what I dislike about these articles that come out by some writer who is just trying to
crank out a story on something he or she cares/knows very little about.

I'll bet Troy Patterson loves Hennessy and Coke. (old Bar owner joke)
Or maybe a fine Designer vodka.

º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºº¤ø,¸¸,:MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TIKISKIP!!:º¤ø,¸¸ø¤ºº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º

I like Havana Club and I usually drink the 7 year. For me, if it was legal I would always have a bottle handy. Even if I don't use it in a tiki drink, it is great to have around when someone wants a Cuba Libre. I think it is great sipper and it goes well in many drinks. Sure it has some allure since we can't get it in the US, but I always have it at my house and I travel quite a bit, so I can really drink it anytime. Some bars in SD even have it on hand from time to time. There are a lot of other rums I could do without on the US market, I think legal Havana Club would be a huge asset to rum drinkers.

Mahalo for the taste test tikiskip. I had a feeling the Bacardi product was nothing special, mainly a marketing ploy. I agree that Havana Club from Cuba tends to be much smoother, with little astringency.

As a change of pace, here's a very credible article from The Miami Herald, which covers Cuba better than just about any U.S. publication. I used to work there many moons ago. Mimi is a veteran writer who knows her stuff.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article4894620.html.

Interesting take-away:

InsightCuba and other people-to-people providers, which are licensed to organize trips to Cuba that promote engagement between Americans and the Cuban people, anticipate more travel. But some providers say even bigger changes are ahead — perhaps allowing authorized travelers to visit on their own rather than only on an organized tour.

John McAuliff, who has organized people-to-people tours — the most recent in November — said he expects the whole process of Cuba travel will be shaken up and that the changes could make Cuba travel more accessible to a wider demographic of Americans.

I thought Bacardi's claim of having the "authentic recipe" was kind of funny, because there's no proof that Cuba's Havana Club doesn't also have that recipe. And it seems more likely that Cuba's Havana Club is using the original yeast, whereas Bacardi couldn't possibly have it. Plus, Havana Club is using molasses from Cuban grown sugar cane, which Bacardi doesn't have access to (and there's bound to be at least a slight difference). So if I had to guess which Havana Club is more like the rum from pre-Castro Cuba, I'd bet on Havana Club rather than Bacardi.

The 7 year is okay, but the Havana Club 3 yo white is the best. If Jeff Berry says it is the only acceptable rum for a Daiquiri, I take his word for it and that is also all I use. It is velvety smooth.

The other Havana Clubs gather dust on my shelf, but the white I use for drinks that are rum forward like a Daiquiri.

Just fyi - If you want to try the rum Jeff Berry uses at Latitude 29 for his daiquiris, it's Cana Brava from Panama. I'd be interested in a comparison of it and Havana Club 3 year.

I've been looking for Cana Brava for a long time ... haven't found it yet in stores. Legendary Don Pancho, the former Havana Club rum master, helped create that.

Don Pancho's own line of rums from Panama called Origines recently hit the market. The premium sipping rums are a little pricey, but I got a taste at the Miami Rum Fest. Great stuff.

Here's an interesting article that quotes Don Pancho about the secrets of Cuban rum, along with the author's quest for Havana Club in NYC, plus info on a few more rums that evoke the same style.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-11/drink-this-now-excellent-rums-with-a-cuban-connection.html

Boy, you are really doing your research, thank you! Nice article, it really says it all. What a bunch of fancy bottle designs! Funny, I guess when the rums are that expensive, the makers feel obliged to spend some dough on the containers to make them LOOK expensive. These bottles are nice, but I believe that Havana Club's iconic value lies in part in the simplicity of its name, its font and its bottle.

The thaw in the restrictions on travel to Cuba continues. Here is an Associated Press report from today which sheds more light on how this is unfolding. This pertains to tiki in that --- wait for it --- the Cuban's produce rum. Some of it is delicious rum. Rum which we have not been able to legally get for a very long time. (Unless you're Bigbro and frequently visiting Europe.)

Obama administration punches new holes in embargo on Cuba

HAVANA (AP) 3/15/2016 — The Obama administration punched a new series of holes in the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba on Tuesday, turning a ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba into an unenforceable honor system and paving the way for Cuban athletes to one day play Major League Baseball and other U.S. professional sports.

Five days ahead of the first presidential trip to Havana in nearly 90 years, the U.S. also eliminated a ban on Cuban access to the international banking system. The inability to send or receive payments that passed through the U.S. banking system had crippled the country's ability to trade with third countries and became a major hindrance to the U.S. attempt to normalize relations with Cuba.

"The simple basis of our policy is that by loosening these restrictions we are better able to engage with the Cuban people, to support them and to build bridges between our two countries ," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said. "We deeply believe that this is in America's national interest."

The Cuban government made no immediate comment. Tuesday's announcement allows Cuban citizens to earn salaries in the United States as long as they don't pay special taxes in Cuba, specifically mentioning athletes, artists and performers as potential beneficiaries. Until Tuesday, only Cubans who had begun the process of emigrating to the U.S. could legally earn money in the United States beyond a tiny living stipend.

Major League Baseball is negotiating with both the U.S. and Cuban government to create a legal means for Cuban baseball players to play in the U.S. without having to abandon their country, eliminating the need for some of the world's highest-priciest baseball talent to use human traffickers to get to the major leagues.

As for ordinary Americans, they can now take "people-to-people" educational trips to Cuba on their own instead of joining expensive group tours. That means any American can legally go to Cuba after filling out a form asserting that their trip is for educational purposes instead of tourism. They'll have to keep records for five years about what they did in Cuba, but won't have to submit them unless asked.

The Obama administration previously allowed independent travel for specific purposes like supporting religious organizations or participating in sports events. Tuesday's move was expected to have greater impact because the definition of educational travel is so amorphous it can include virtually any activity that isn't lying on a beach drinking mojitos.

U.S. leisure travel to Cuba nearly doubled last year, to more than 160,000 visitors, and Tuesday's measure is expected to add another 10-20 percent increase, helping fill seats on as many as 110 commercial flights a day starting later this year.

"It's the closest thing to straight-away travel," said Tom Popper, president of insightCuba, among the largest companies organizing U.S. travel to Cuba. "The message to most Americans that the travel restrictions are really loosening will come across more clearly. I think we'll see another surge in interest."

Elimination of the tour requirement could cost the Cuban government millions of dollars in revenue while letting U.S. travelers see Cuba in a far more independent way than before. Because the Cuban government controls virtually all the travel industry, American groups had to stay in state hotels, travel on state buses, pay for food through a state agency and use state tour guides.

Obama arrives in Havana on Sunday and is expected to call for elimination of the nearly six-decade-old trade embargo on Cuba. His administration has already eliminated numerous trade and travel limits through executive action. More than a year after Obama and President Raul Castro announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, U.S. companies can now manufacture goods in Cuba, export to the Cuban government and fly regularly scheduled flights to the island. The Starwood hotel chain says it soon expects to get U.S. approval to manage hotels in the country.

The ban on international transactions that passed through the U.S. banking system for even a second had seriously hobbled Cuba's ability to engage in international trade. Many banks have refused to do Cuba-related business because of the fear of U.S. litigation that has cost some banks hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.

That had infuriated the Cuban government, which accused the U.S. of waging a worldwide economic war against Cuba that overrode other countries' laws allowing business with Cuba. With Cuba's centrally planned, export-dependent economy constantly short of cash for goods, any interference with its ability to do business had outsize impact on the island's decaying infrastructure.

"They're elevated it now to just about the single most important irritant of the larger embargo," said Robert Muse, an attorney specializing in U.S. law on Cuba. "Cuba is like a coupon-clipping bargain shopper. They don't have money to burn and they're trying to stretch hard currencies as far as they can."

The Castro government has moved slowly enough to raise questions about whether there will be significant trade between the two countries before Obama leaves office. Although the Obama administration has legalized exports of badly needed goods ranging from construction materials to tractor parts, no such trade has begun. Many experts believe that the Communist government is delaying trade with the U.S. to build pressure on Congress to do away with the embargo entirely.

Josh Lederman contributed from Washington.

Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Refrigerator magnets are displayed for sale in a tourist shop, several showing images of U.S. President Barack Obama, at a market in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 14, 2016. President Obama will travel to Cuba on March 20.

A taxi driving a classic American car passes a billboard that reads in Spanish: "Long live free Cuba" in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 14, 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Cuba on March 20. The trip will mark a watershed moment in U.S.-Cuba relations, making Obama the first sitting U.S. president to set foot on the island in nearly seven decades.

Workers repair the street in front of the Capitolio in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 14, 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Cuba on March 20.

Tourists walk next to an weathered old photo of Ernest Hemingway and Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 14, 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Cuba on March 20.

[Photo coming soon.]
AceExplorer walks down Havana's main street with a fragrant Cohiba cigar in his mouth, a bottle of Havana Club 24-year in one hand, and a Havana babe in the other.

"Tuesday's move was expected to have greater impact because the definition of educational travel is so amorphous it can include virtually any activity that isn't lying on a beach drinking mojitos."

What if you were writing an article on the best beaches in the world, or trying to find the best Mojito recipe? Sounds to me like anything could be considered "educational."

Exciting stuff, Thanks for posting Ace!

On 2016-03-15 13:17, AceExplorer wrote:

[Photo coming soon.]
AceExplorer walks down Havana's main street with a fragrant Cohiba cigar in his mouth, a bottle of Havana Club 24-year in one hand, and a Havana babe in the other.

Well Ace, you finally made the trek. Let's see the proof!

Heh, thanks Mike, will do - I'm in the Bahamas through Monday. Gonna see how rum selection compares to my recent experience in Cuba. Then I'll get some time to finish my write-up and post photos. I'm very pleased that you're going soon. It's an awesome experience!

We booked our trip to Cuba!

Flights out of Lauderdale were super cheap through Southwest. And they always have great rates from Austin to Lauderdale. So we'll have one night at the Mai Kai followed by 6 days in Havana. Total cost of flights for two is under $600.

We booked a really nice looking Casa Particular in the Vedado area a couple blocks from the Malecon and Hotel Riviera. It was $50/night and has ultra modern/updated features, a balcony, bidet (!), and a nice view. All in for lodging and travel is under $1000. Not bad!

I'm working on our itinerary. I've read through the "Havana Before Castro" book, people's travel blogs, threads on here and forums on Trip Adviser. Got lots of ideas including drinks and oggling at Polinesio, a Havana Club Distillery tour, daiquiris at Floridita, mojitos at La Bodeguita Del Medio, a stop at the Bacardi building, a show at the Tropicana, a day or two lounging at Santa María del Mar or one of the other playas, sightseeing in the mid century neighborhoods and maybe a visit to the Hemingway homestead (though that seems way out of the way)

If anyone has suggestions of things we may have missed or any advice for our trip, please chime in!

Oh yeah, curious how much cash per day we should plan for. Obviously we want to bring more than necessary. Seems like $100/day oughta be more than sufficient.

And what about food recommendations? I've heard the best deals and service are in Casas. Any in particular we should seek out?

On 2017-01-27 15:49, mikehooker wrote:
Oh yeah, curious how much cash per day we should plan for. Obviously we want to bring more than necessary. Seems like $100/day oughta be more than sufficient.

And what about food recommendations? I've heard the best deals and service are in Casas. Any in particular we should seek out?

Mike, Just sent you a PM and then saw you previous post.
The Hotel National is worth a visit in late afternoon. The bar next to the lobby ooze’s history and the Mojitos are very good. Daiquiris are not as good as the surprisingly delicious ones served at La Floridita. Mojitos and live music in the outdoor seating areas and we may never hear from you again :^)
Hemingway’s casa is well worth visiting. Allow 3-4 hours. Take the ferry from Old Havana and then a cab to PaPa’s house. Return via cab and get a wonderful taste of everyday Cuba. You heard right about the food-wish I could recall the names of the places we chowed down at.
Cheers

Mike, Hotel food is generally not great, go to local joints and the food is way better. All of the bars like La Bodeguita Del Medio and Floridita are worth a visit but relatively expensive and you can get better drinks elsewhere. La Torre has great views (slightly scary as it is so high and most Havana buildings are crumbling).
There is a tour of cinemas that is good, but you can easily do it yourself on foot.
I would honestly say, get out of Havana, at least for a little while. It is a bit like visiting New York and thinking that you have seen America. People are super friendly and no hassle.
Hire a car from a hotel and take a drive, you won't regret it and the roads are super easy, just don't drive at night.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! Didn't realize we had to take a ferry to get to Papa's house. Glad to know it's a worthwhile adventure so I'll keep it on our itinerary.

My wife was wanting to do a side trip to Cienfuegos but it looks like it's a 5-6 hour bus ride each way which would end up utilizing atleast 2 if not 3 days of our 6 day trip. I saw online suggestions saying if you only have one week, spend it all in Havana cuz there's so much to see and do but I'm not opposed to a one day excursion. Some websites say Trinidad and Santa Clara are better getaways than Cienfuegos but they're also very far and probably require more than a day. If we're gonna leave Havana, where would you suggest we go?

Cienfuegos is a great place, almost the opposite of Havana. All of the buildings are in great condition.
As I said, hire a car and drive yourself down there. You can take the motorway part way I think which is interesting because you may not see another car. But the secondary roads are more scenic and just as good, hardly a bend in them.

Well we did it! Fresh back from our Havana trip and already planning a return visit. My wife and I were joined by our friend Jonny, and they should both be given credit for the majority of the photos here. They not only have better cameras than me, I was too absorbed in the beauty of my surroundings I rarely remembered to pull out my camera.

We stayed in a very clean and updated casa in the Vedado district ($50/night), just a couple blocks from the Riviera Hotel which overlooks the Malecon. We ended up at the Riviera every day, multiple times a day. That place is spectacular. Oh, and we saw Anthony Bourdain there picking up a wifi card.

There were so many other incredible architectural and design features there that we didn't capture.

I can't understate how friendly the people of Havana are. Our host noticed my birthday was two days after our arrival so he left me a very welcome gift.

Our first full day on the town we took a taxi to Habana Vieja. Most every ride we took during the course of our stay cost 5 CUC for the three of us. Typically they'd ask 6, 8 or 10 and we'd negotiate down to 5.

Our first stop, Floridita.

Notice the doors are not open yet. Same at Sloppy Joes.

Cubans appear to start their day late. We did return to both, though. Twice.

The Bacardi building was roughly in between those bars. Such a glorious sight.

I love that the bat still proudly adorns the roof top.

And details like this still exist.

I thought there was a bar inside but the guy at the door said it was just offices. What does a guy gotta do to get a daiquiri around here?!

We ventured onward to the Museo de la Revolucion.

EDIT: Forgot to post this photo of the magnificent Dome ceiling.

And this mural just below it.

We very nearly missed the wall of Rincon De Los Cretinos!

While getting a good chuckle here some Americanos informed us of some street art nearby that we might also enjoy.

Next stop, Castillo San Salvador de la Punta, a 16th century fortress with some breathtaking views

Alright, enough dicking around, let's get a drink!

Sloppy Joe's, celebrating 100 years of service was absolutely dead. We took a seat at the bar and ordered daiquiris, "Natural," which means shaken. You have to specify or they make them frozen. Not only do I prefer my daiquiris that way, we had some concern about ingesting too much water there and figure there's less dilution in a shaken daiquiri than a slushy one.

Next stop, La Floridita!

The place is completely unchanged from the photos I've seen from the 50s.

The live entertainment was wonderful. And unlike Sloppy Joe's a few blocks down, the place was PACKED!

We couldn't get seats at the bar so we joined a table with a friendly couple from England. Now, during the rush at Floridita they whip up a dozen or more frozen daiquiris at a time in multiple blenders and have an assembly line of glasses lined up. It's a very efficient way to feed and please the masses. We were the jerks that asked for our Daiquiris "Natural" in the height of a rush. Abel gave a quick dirty look to us, then went to work.

Such a trooper!

This day is only half over but I'm gonna give this post a rest for now, leaving you with one final image.

Part 2, tomorrow.

[ Edited by: mikehooker 2017-05-06 14:24 ]

Great pics, Mike! What a great city to visit... So glad you got to go.

I've written most of my Cuba post, but haven't got the photos together yet. I know...

Can't wait to see how your trip varied from mine, Ace.

Late April in Havana is warm. Very warm. And humid. Thankfully it's very inexpensive to keep hydrated. The state run convenience stores sell 1.5L water bottles for just 1 CUC. We went through a ton of them. Still the constant sun exposure was exhausting so each day after a few hours of exploring we found ourselves returning to the casa for a spritz and siesta while we waited for it to cool off.

Our next destination was a somewhat lengthy walk for ice cream at the Parque Coppelia.

We came upon an entrance and waited in a line. When we were allowed to go forward to the counter they informed us they only accept CUP, the local currency. We asked where we could pay in CUC and they pointed somewhere around the corner. We got in another line which evidently was to go upstairs. (Below pic stolen from the web)

I really wish we would have gone up there cuz it looks freakin' awesome. But we were utterly confused as to where we were supposed to go and desperately in need of ice cream in our belly so we moved on. Finally we found a small area that accepted CUC and went to town on some pineapple ice cream.

The Habana Libre (formerly Havana Hilton) was directly across the street. It had some amazing design aspects including the 16 million tile mosaic.

And fun ceiling.

But our motivation lie elsewhere. Down in the basement.

We sat at the bar and Oswaldo greeted us with menus. Hey, those look familiar!

We got to talking and before you know it he brought out a bunch of goodies from his collection to show us.

The self proclaimed "Tiki Man" gave us the grand tour, showing off his "son," this Barney West carved tiki that is signed on the bottom.

The former Trader Vic's is an immaculate time capsule with so much wonderful eye candy.

And of course the Chinese ovens.

We had three rounds of drinks. Everyone's favorite was the Pirata, which is a twist on a Pina Colada and served in a newly manufactured skull mug (picture eludes me right now).

EDIT: Picture FOUND!

I forget what it's called on the menu, but their equivalent of a Fog Cutter was pretty good as well. You might want to avoid the Mai Tai which comes out red.

The secret ingredient of the Pirata is the coconut liqueur which is very fragrant. We scoured the city endlessly in search of a bottle. We saw every other flavor variation imaginable from Mulata and had finally given up the search until alas, in our final hour in Havana, sitting on the shelf at Duty Free...

That's all for now folks. The next days adventure awaits.

[ Edited by: mikehooker 2017-05-06 10:59 ]

Wow, Mike, I'm so envious! Looks like you had a spectacular trip thus far. The Wife and I had a conversation just last night about all the places we've wanted to travel but haven't. Cuba's one of those places. Hopefully we'll get there once our kids are out of the house.

Part 3.

Back to old Havana for some more exploration. The taxi dropped us here.

We grabbed a quick bite near the Plaza de la Catedral, checked out said Cathedral, then realized we were right next to La Bodeguita Del Medio so we went in for mojitos. Gotta say, history aside, this was rather disappointing. Not only were the drinks very expensive (by Cuban standards), they were the worst we had on the whole trip. The bar area is tiny and it was overcrowded so we quickly gulped and moved on.

Meandering down old brick roads, we came upon Museo Armería 9 de Abril where we saw Che's rifle and Fidel's pistol, among other relics of the Revolución.

A couple blocks further was Museo Del Chocolate which lured us in with its wonderful aroma. The "museum" was little more than a chocolate shop but we couldn't resist buying a box of 12 truffles to share, which we were obliged to eat on the spot because they wouldn't last 5 seconds in the sweltering heat. Onward we strolled to Plaza Vieja where we pondered this sculpture of a bald woman carrying a fork on a cock...

And I was positively enamored with this building undergoing some serious restorations.

There was a planetarium in the plaza that had the nicest A/C of any building we'd been in. They said we had to purchase tickets from a booth outside but no one was manning the station so we ventured through a back alley and found ourselves at the Havana Club museum.

At the recommendation of many, we didn't bother with the tour, but we did check out the bar area and gift shop. I freakin' LOVED the tile floors in there.

Dos Hermanos was right next door so we sat at a table and had drinks. Nothing special there so we strolled on and came across the Old Havana Aquarium which piqued our interest. Sadly, this "Aquarium" was not unlike what you'd see at any box store pet shop in America. A line of fish tanks with nothing especially exotic. I believe this only set us back 1 CUC and atleast it got us out of the heat for a few minutes.

Feeling famished, we headed towards Hotel Ambos Mundos where Hemingway spent some time writing in the '30s. The guide who gives you the tour of Hemingway's room had passed out in there so we didn't disturb her.

An old school lift brings you to the rooftop restaurant where we got some more drinks and grub.

I might add, we seemingly drank constantly and I watched the stiff pours going into all our cocktails yet none of us ever really felt more than a tingle of a buzz. Perhaps we were just sweating out all the toxins before they affected our motor functions.

Anyway, up on the roof you get a nice view of the surroundings.

We walked back to the Paseo del Prado to scope out the Capitolio.

The Gran Teatro de La Habana next door was superb.

Time to hitch a taxi back to our casa for our customary siesta before dinner.

We went to a place called New Georges for lobster, lamb, and... rabbit. And of course more cocktails. While it turned out to be the most expensive meal of our trip, it was easily less than half of what you'd expect to pay for similar fare in America. It was right off the Malecon so we got to ogle the Riviera at night.

Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion!

The QUALITY of your Cuba photos from your visit are SUPERB!!! (-:

On 2017-05-05 01:28, Thortiki wrote:
The QUALITY of your Cuba photos from your visit are SUPERB!!! (-:

Thanks! Like I said at the start, credit goes to my wife Chelsea and our buddy Jonathan McMahon. They took about 90% of the shots I posted. And for what it's worth, these are all camera phone pics. We did bring our nice Canon but never remembered to take it out with us.

I've got our final day of activities to share still. Hoping to find time tomorrow.

Part 4.

Sunrise from our balcony.

One more day of exploration.

We began with a moderate uphill stroll from our casa to see the Monumento de John Lennon.

Several blocks later we arrived at the Colon Cemetery which was established in 1876.

We found a few monuments nearly that old. Some were decrepit with exposed remains.

While others were extremely impressive and well kempt.

Overall, this reminded me a lot of the cemeteries in New Orleans but less weathered and better maintained.

We hired a taxi to bring us back to old Havana.

We spent a good amount of time at Castillo de la Real Fuerza, a fort and museum with some awesome relics from ship wrecks and a fantastic view from the bell tower.

Then we sauntered along Obispo searching for guarapo with no such luck. Stopped in a used book store looking for old cocktail recipe books and a craft market to try and find some souvenirs but struck out at both places. We did happen upon these adorable, albeit very tired dogs.

Decided the trip would not be complete without one last stop at Floridita.

It was so packed and rowdy we contemplated not going inside. I'm so glad we thought better of it cuz this visit turned out to be a highlight of the trip for me. After several minutes we were able to finagle our way into a crammed spot at the bar and order daiquiris. In the mad rush I dared not order them "Natural" so we settled for the frozen kind. They were good and went down super fast. We noticed the couple next to us had a drink in a collins glass which threw us since til that moment we'd not even seen a drink menu and the only ones going around were daiquiris and the occasional Cuba Libre. I even heard the bartender deny someone a mojito. What was this mystery elixir? They tell us it's a Hemingway. OHHHH! Duh! Of course you could order a Hemingway at Floridita! So we did. They weren't good. Nor were they particularly strong. Shall we leave now? Nah! We had prime real estate at the bar. Let's make the most of it. Another round of daiquiris? Why the hell not!

By my estimation we'd only been there about 30 minutes and were already working on our third cocktail. The busyness and obnoxiousness of the barrage of tourists stopped bothering me. I started feeling really happy, just taking in the history and beauty of my surroundings. I felt at ease. I didn't want to leave. Ever. I tried to imagine what it must have been like to come here before it was a crazy tourist trap. What the drinks must have been like before the Revolution.

Suddenly, the band wrapped up. The crowd dissipated. There was a nice lull before the next tour bus was to drop off another swarm of thirsty patrons. I order a Daiquiri "Natural." With a soft chuckle and slight eye roll, the bartender grabs the shaker tins and mockingly blows off the dust, then goes to work on his masterpiece. A hefty scoop of sugar, a squirt of lime juice and a wee bit of maraschino liqueur is doused with a generous pour of Havana Club Anejo 3 Años. Ice is added and he gently shakes my daiquiri to absolutely perfection. What he poured into my glass was an honest to goodness reason to live. I wish those few precious sips could last forever. I imagine this is what Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic tasted in their early travels that set them on their journey to creating the perfect potions that we obsess over and still celebrate all these years later. This daiquiri gives me a new purpose and outlook on life.

Or maybe I was just really drunk. I did consume around 8 ounces of rum in less than an hour.

Anyway, Havana is a beautiful city. As others have stressed, it's also very safe. We never felt threatened at night or anywhere we wandered. The locals we encountered were extremely friendly and excited to see Americans. If anything, we were the rude ones who would initially be standoff-ish, assuming they were trying to scam us. I wish we had more time to explore and more room in our suitcases for rum. We definitely want to return at some point. We'd likely do a couple more days in Havana as we never made it to the Tropicana or Hemingway's house, and we'd spend the rest of the time in Cienfuegos, Trinidad and other areas.

Here's my rum haul.

PS - I added a couple photos to my previous posts so if you read them when they first went up, you might want to take another gander.

Wow Mike, Mahalo-Gracias for sharing.
Welcome home!

Mahalo. But don't wanna be home!

I noticed going back through my pics that some of the links are broken. Not sure if it's a problem with my internet connection not loading them or if I need to re-upload them. Anyone else seeing blank boxes where there oughta be photos?