New Cuban rum Eminente aims to show 'new side' to island

A new Cuban rum to hit the European market is hoping to bring both the taste and spirit of the Caribbean island to its customers.

Eminente Rum, a new brand from Moet Hennessy, was launched in the UK, France, Germany and the Czech Republic in autumn 2020, aiming to showcase a new side to Cuban rum and to the island itself.

To create its new spirit, Moet Hennessy secured the talents of César Martí, the youngest of Cuba's 10 maestros roneros (master Cuban rum distillers). César grew up in the Central province of Cuba in a family that worked on the sugarcane fields surrounding his home and brings expertise in both raw materials and production to the brand.

In creating Eminente's Reserva, its inaugural release, César took inspiration from 19th-century flavours and styles of Cuban rum and the island's Central rum style, which marries the heavier rums of the North with the finer sipping rums of the South.

It is made using a blend of light, fruity rum spirit, distilled to 96% ABV, and aguardiente, an eau-de-vie distilled from molasses to 75% and aged in ex-whisky barrels.

The light spirit and aged aguardiente are blended before a secondary ageing, with 14 further points of blending during the ageing process. The resulting spirit has a much higher proportion of aguardiente than the average for Cuban rum (18 per cent).

Aged for a minimum of seven years, Eminente Reserva was only the sixth Cuban rum to be classified Demonimación de Origen Protegida (DOP) Ron de Cuba, a status that dictates strict rules to ensure authenticity and quality.

The Reserva's textured glass bottles, created in Mexico, are designed to reflect a lesser-know aspect of the island - its native crocodiles, which give the island its local nickname 'Isla del Cocodrilo'.

16 February 2021 - Bethany Whymark