Matusalem Rum was Cuba’s best-kept secret until Fidel Castro came and kicked it out of the country. After all these years, Gran Reserva has retained its rebellious spirit, as well as its rich Cuban heritage and history.

Introduced in Santiago de Cuba in 1872, Matusalem Rum was the national rum in Cuba known for its exquisite taste and smoothness. Matusalem’s reputation spread the world over when Cuba became the destination of choice for celebrities and trendsetters from the 1850’s through the 1950’s.

With Castro’s uprising, the family fled Cuba and has produced Matusalem in exile ever since.

It’s award-winning and appealing to the “outcast” in all of us.

What makes Matusalem Rum a premium brand of rum, setting it apart from established competitors? - Matusalem’s 130 year-old recipe is derived from a Spanish technique traditionally used to craft the finest brandy, sherry and cognac. This patient process called “Solera” creates a rum that is smoother and more flavorful than competing rums.

What is the Solera aging process? - The Solera aging system, is a process blending rums of different ages into one. Stored in oak casks, the aged rum is split by three levels. The oldest distilled rum is housed on the lowest floor. Newer rums are put into casks on successively higher floors, so that the youngest is on top. As the rum is pulled from the lowest Solera barrels for bottling, it is replaced with rum from the row just above. This process is repeated with the remaining rows, though no more than one-third of each cask can be drawn off every three months.

This marrying of old and new softens the fiery younger rum and provides it with a refined smoothness and flavor not found in ordinary rums. A 15-year Solera or a 10-year Solera is an average of the blended years.

Is Matusalem Rum still produced in Cuba? - Unfortunately, as with so many other successful Cuban companies, the Alvarez family fled Cuba with the ascension of the Castro regime. It is now bottled and produced in Santiago, Dominican Republic where the environment – weather pattern, sugar cane, soil and water - is most similar to Cuba. Further more, production in the Dominican Republic allows the rum to be made available in the United States. Still, the same recipe and strict standards that were developed by the company’s founders remain the foundation of Matusalem Rum.

Finally, what is the difference between Matusalem Rum’s three products – Gran Reserva, Clasico and Platino? - All three brands are premium rums, targeted for discerning tastes. Gran Reserva is the flagship brand – complex, yet velvety smooth, with a pronounced bouquet and flavor. So distinct, it’s known as the “Cognac of rums”. Single-handedly beat Bacardi 8 in recent taste tests.

Clasico, a gold rum, aged in new world oak and blended in a “10 year” solera system has an unmatched taste enhancing the flavor of any cocktail. Single-handedly beat Mount Gay in recent taste tests.

Platino is a white rum, composed from a unique blend of triple-distilled spirits, married in a special process and then filtered and refined to create a rum of exceptionally clean taste, delicate balance and a subtle flavor. Single-handedly beat Bacardi Silver in recent taste tests.

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