CubaPLUS Magazine

Cuban light rum, made from top quality sugar cane molasses, celebrates its 150^th birthday.

For experienced rum master José Pablo Navarro Campa, the year 2012 is quite special because it is the 150^th anniversary of a culture that, above all else, belongs to the Cuban people.

During a friendly conversation with Cubaplus, the rum expert explained that the creation of light rum is attributed to Catalan Don Facundo Bacardí, who in 1862, used what he had learned from his years of previous experience to achieve a new type of rum that was eventually honed and refined into the product that he later introduced to the world market.

Bacardí talked about the exclusivity of the Cuban rum in an interview published in 1925: there really was not or can be at any moment in history or in any given country a rum like ours. Not even similar because those manufactured outside of Cuba lack the best raw material there is, the Cuban sugar cane molasses".

Today I can say Cuban rum can only be made by the exceptional quality of the land on this island and its climate, the centennial wines stored in old cellars, the barrels allowing proper aging and the hands and hearts of rum masters, as true guardians, not owners, of that treasure."

Navarro Campa also emphasized the importance of separating cultures and brands. Brands can be established in several countries but culture has a homeland. We celebrate 150 years of our rum culture that was born in Santiago de Cuba, and that has prevailed since then and not elsewhere because it was born here. We have preserved it, cherished it, enriched it and passed it on from generation to generation".