I picked up this bottle of Ron Santiago de Cuba in London since I wanted to see how a long-aged Cuban rum would compare to similarly aged rums from countries like Jamaica or Barbados for which I’m more familiar. Cuban rum (“Ron de Cuba”) is a lighter style made with column stills and unlike many Spanish-heritage distilleries there does not appear to be much in the way of added sugar in the finished product. The product is issued at 40% ABV and is quite dark in color.
Indeed Extra Añejo includes typical spicy barrel aging notes but those flavors do not overwhelm. The dry and lighter style means this is very easy to drink. While I find the taste pleasant, there is not a great deal of depth nor is there the lingering finish more common from pot still-based rums. As a point of comparison I find Havana Club 7 to have a richer taste with a longer finish including pleasant toffee notes.
