Rum

Genuine Havana Club Is One Step Closer to a U.S. Rollout

Yo-ho-ho.
Yo-ho-ho. Photo: Wikimedia

Just in time for the ten-year-anniversary Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights Blu-ray, assuming someone has the guts to release such a thing, comes some pretty broad but nonetheless promising industry speculation that Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club rum may soon be available for daiquiris everywhere from Brooklyn to the Bay Area. The Cuban rum would have to be sold under the name Havanista in the U.S., because Bacardi trademarked its own “Havana Club” in 2012, but the newly reestablished diplomatic relations and moves toward loosening 53-year-old trade embargoes could also signal a key change in cocktail culture. Right now, mixed-drinks mavens like Julie Reiner are forced to smuggle the prized rum into the country, or get a few shots from a friend. For now, the just-announced policy change means that anyone traveling from Cuba to the U.S. can return with $100 worth of alcohol or tobacco products, but laws prohibit resale of the products.

[The Spirits Business]

Genuine Havana Club Is One Step Closer to a U.S. Rollout