NEW - Havana Club Rum have launched their entry into the "Spiced Rum" category...
And WHAT an entry it is! And yes before the egos come trolling me, I know this Cuban Spiced is a Spirit Drink and not a Spiced Rum. BUT, do we really care?! Nope. To most consumers, it'll get bracketed in with Spiced Rum and deservedly so.
Havana Club Cuban Spiced is a Masterpiece in my opinion. Spiced up with Vanilla. Then fruited up (yeah I like that term) with Guava, Pineapple and Toasted Coconut. There are 2 things to note here. Firstly, I never imagine Havana Club would ever entertain this category, let alone come up with a fruity concoction. And secondly, the obvious comparison would be with Captain Morgan's Tiki Spiced Rum. Well, lets just squash that rumour. While Havana Club Cuban Spiced is undoubtedly in that "Spirit Drink" category, they are WORLDS apart! WORLDs. In fact GALAXIES!
Cuban Spiced comes in at a healthy 35% ABV and actually obviously uses an awesome base Rum! Well if they weren't using their own rum, there'd be something wrong!! Also, while I admittedly have a slightly sweeter palate, I also have a tropical fruit palate too. This bursts of flavour, but for me personally, I don't think it's Sweet. yes, sweeter than Rum, obviously. But if I was to score Captain Morgan Tiki at say 7 out of 10... Then I think this would be around a 4 or 5 out of 10. maybe that's just me. I know Rum gurus would call this Sweet. But the fact is, this can't be more than a 5-6, especially when you try the other 300+ spiced Rums on the market now!
Drinking Neat...
Well, this is super smooth. a cliche i know. but there's no other way to describe it. There's no ethanol burn that you get from Dead Mans Fingers, From Sailor Jerry and from many other Rums, but you can tell its not a 25-30% abv either. You can tell it has a kick! You get the Guava and Pineapple notes slipping you in the face form the first sip. Then you get the vanilla and the subtle hint of coconut on the aftertaste. it's immense!
Mixing...
While shooting, I hadn't tried it with Coke as the back of the bottle suggests, however, I can now confirm that the Coke works VERY well! Also so does the ginger Beer!
For me though, I had a few others. Ginger Ale and Fever trees Spiced Orange Ginger Ale was fantastic. Fentimans Tropical Soda is a match made in heaven. And for those with a sweeter palate, you're going to love Rubicon Mango or Passion fruit. (The fizzy stuff) and also Old Jamaica Pineapple, Ting and of course Lilt!
Cocktail wise...
Well, this is the first one. I've already shot another 2 videos. The second video next week, now that's the one to watch out for. OH MY GOD, it's good! Big fan of my work. But to start off with, try this Cocktail;
My Cuban Spiced Signature Cocktail
Let me know what you think of this Spiced Rum! Slide into my Instagram DMs!
Cuban Spiced Cocktail Recipe
10ml Honey Syrup
10ml Mango Syrup
15ml Lime Juice
60ml Ginger Beer
Garnish Sprig of Mint
Pineapple & Cherry Skewer
Click on the Links to purchase the Ingredients!