This once colonial residence owned by Count Mortera is the building used as the home of the Havana Club Rum Museum. The building on Avenida del Puerto was constructed between 1772-1780 and has been declared a Cultural Patrimony of Havana by UNESCO in 1982. If I'm ever in this area during one of my many walks, I will step into the lovely bar to wet my whistle. The bar is always open to the public, no cover charge, just pay for your drinks....no Santiago de Cuba Rum found here. Otherwise, for a fee (7cuc), tours are given in several languages at different times of the day. The place has been set up like a Rum Factory showing all the steps involved in the manufacturing of that lovely golden liquid. At the time of my visit they said that a small amount of Havana Club was actually produced in this facility. After the tour you're taken to the bar (the same one I step into) for a sample of Havana Club's finest.
This place has been operating as an attraction since March 31, 2000, but I've been on a tour here only once, many years ago. You're taken through several rooms displaying the various steps involved in the production of rum. A few interesting artifacts are viewed along the way, such as tools used for cultivating sugarcane and producing molasses, as well as paintings depicting the life of African slaves during that time (19th century). The entire process is described by your guide starting from when Columbus brought sugarcane stalks from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. Eventually you end up in a room where a miniature Batey (a settlement around a sugar mill in Cuba & the Dominican Republic) is set up...see pictures below. At the end of the tour you're brought to the bar for a sample of Havana Club Rum, the tour takes about 25 minutes.
Yes, it's a very touristy thing to do but worth doing at least once, especially if you're a Rum drinker. After all, don't you want to know how that rum gets into that bottle and how the whole thing started to begin with? It's definitely worth the price of admission.
Museo del Ron
Avenida del Puerto 262, esq. Sol, Habana Vieja
53 (7) 861 8051 / 862 4108
Hours
Mon-Thurs, 9:00am to 5:30pm
Fri-Sun, 9:00am to 4:30pm
Tours in Spanish, English, French, German and Italian
Price CUC 7
This place has been operating as an attraction since March 31, 2000, but I've been on a tour here only once, many years ago. You're taken through several rooms displaying the various steps involved in the production of rum. A few interesting artifacts are viewed along the way, such as tools used for cultivating sugarcane and producing molasses, as well as paintings depicting the life of African slaves during that time (19th century). The entire process is described by your guide starting from when Columbus brought sugarcane stalks from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. Eventually you end up in a room where a miniature Batey (a settlement around a sugar mill in Cuba & the Dominican Republic) is set up...see pictures below. At the end of the tour you're brought to the bar for a sample of Havana Club Rum, the tour takes about 25 minutes.
Yes, it's a very touristy thing to do but worth doing at least once, especially if you're a Rum drinker. After all, don't you want to know how that rum gets into that bottle and how the whole thing started to begin with? It's definitely worth the price of admission.
Museo del Ron
Avenida del Puerto 262, esq. Sol, Habana Vieja
53 (7) 861 8051 / 862 4108
Hours
Mon-Thurs, 9:00am to 5:30pm
Fri-Sun, 9:00am to 4:30pm
Tours in Spanish, English, French, German and Italian
Price CUC 7
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