vacations in cuba soon any suggestion??

[cHeMIKaL]

hi
I'm going to cuba next week
do you have good suggestion do make?
of course I all ready have: havana club 15 years and some Varadero 15 years in my list

what do you think about: vigia gran anejo, cubay anejo and santiago de cuba anejo???

thanks a lots

[Calgaryx]

Where are you going in Cuba? I just got back and can give some tips. I saw Maximo at two different locations. It is 1700.00 CUC.

[cHeMIKaL]

Where are you going in Cuba? I just got back and can give some tips. I saw Maximo at two different locations. It is 1700.00 CUC.

varadero maximo that's to expensive for me but I will try to have a pictures of me with the bottle

[scarphe]

edmundo dantes would be worthy of finding as well.

[Calgaryx]

They had Maximo at the Varadero Airport as well at Casa de Ron (house of Rum), It is located just west of Plaza Americana.

You may want to pick up Ron Santiago 11 year. The Varadero 15 may be hard to find. I picked up the last bottle at the airport. It was a little dusty.

If you go to Havana try to go to the Havana Club Rum museum in the old city.

[Edward Hamilton]

The Havana Club museum is the pride of the company. I would like to get more information on brands and distilleries for the next edition of my book. Feel free to pass my email address to people in Cuba who work at any of the distilleries, if you get that far.

Communication with Cuba has been difficult over the years.

[Tru-life]

Hey

I Think you should buy some Ron planchao. Its not a good rum, but just to add it to your collection, because this is the rum who the most cubans can afford to drink. The rum for the people. So i think its a little funny and charming to have

[Rum Runner]

Hey

I Think you should buy some Ron planchao.

Welcome Tru-Life! When you get the chance please pop over the Introductions Forum and tell us a little about yourself.

glass.gif

[Don Piero]

The Havana Club museum is the pride of the company. I would like to get more information on brands and distilleries for the next edition of my book. Feel free to pass my email address to people in Cuba who work at any of the distilleries, if you get that far.

Communication with Cuba has been difficult over the years.

Hi Ed, the name of the master distiller for Havana Club is Don Jose Navarro as reported by David Broom. There is a picture of him in the December 2008 Whisky Magazine that featured a 14 page Rum Special article. Looks like he is in his 60's. I doubt he knows how to communicate on the internet.

My suggestion would be to get your visa in order and make the trip - as a US citizen, completing research, I'm pretty sure you would have no problem getting there. Go in late March and April as the weather is great, hot with little wind and humidity. Havana is an incredible city to visit - so much to see. The people are so friendly and the Cuban people (not the Govt.), love Americans.

I've booked a trip for April. I will pass your coordinates like I did last time, but like you said "Communication with Cuba has been difficult". I passed your name through the retail level as I never visited a distillery or the Rum Museum in Havana. I'll see if I can get a mailing address or a phone number.

[Edward Hamilton]

I've had some communication with Seсor Navarro, but like you found it is difficult to get past the retailers in Cuba.

I've been to Cuba but didn't have enough advance notice to get to the people who approve people to go to the distilleries.

I don't see age as being a deterrent to the internet. I personally know several people who are more than eighty years old and who use facebook every day to stay in touch with their families. If you can use facebook you can do email.

There are other problems communicating with Cuban at distilleries.

[RonJames]

I've been looking into mission trips down to cuba. As any one on this forum, obviously there would be rum involved, but I think it would be a great opportunity to help people in need and take a machete to a lot of the diplomatic BS on both sides.

As for the communication...it might help if you actually can go through pernod (that french company thats partnered with Cuba to market HC). Obviously they have a vested interest in building up US market desire for their product.

[cHeMIKaL]

finally I have buy

varadero 15 years
vigia gran reserva
mulata 12 years
legendario 7
and a box of the 3 kind of bottles of ron caney (oro liquero, anejo, blanco)

I had no problem to enter canada with all those bottle (7)
and no tax to paid...

they have havana club gran reserva 15 at the hotel but I have try to wait at duty free because I want to have it with me in the plane but when I got in the airport I find out that they're out of stock in all duty free of the varadero airport
so next time I will buy it at the hotel

[Patapouf]

finally I have buy

varadero 15 years
vigia gran reserva
mulata 12 years
legendario 7
and a box of the 3 kind of bottles of ron caney (oro liquero, anejo, blanco)

I had no problem to enter canada with all those bottle (7)
and no tax to paid...

they have havana club gran reserva 15 at the hotel but I have try to wait at duty free because I want to have it with me in the plane but when I got in the airport I find out that they're out of stock in all duty free of the varadero airport
so next time I will buy it at the hotel

How did you not have any problems? Did you declare everything and they still let you go without paying duty?

[cHeMIKaL]

Yes I have make a mark in on the line : do you exxeed exemption
I write yes
the guy told what is over I told him alcohol he ask how many bottle I told him 7 he write it down on the declaration sheet... when I get to the last gate with my lougage I give the sheet to the girl and she told thank you bye.

so I get out has fast that I can just in case and get back home with my 7 bottles

so no problems... yes I declare 7 bottles and they let me pass without paying duty
I was ready to paid duty but I keep my money
maybe I get lucky because the ligne was full of person I really don't know and I really don't care I paid 40% of my salary in tax I think is enough... and if they don't want me to get more bottle they just have to sell good stuff in liquor no fucking appleton V/X and captain morgan

[goose]

My brother had the same experience. He brought back a bottle of HC15 and Varadero 7 yr for me, a few bottles of HC 7, Legendario Elixir de Cuba and Ron Mulata for himself and some bottles for his brother in law. He declared the number of bottles at the border and they didn't charge him any duty or tax.

I wonder if that is due to the price of the rum in Cuba. Not worthwhile to calculate duty on the "value" of the rum brought back??? I told him most of what he bought could be purchased here, but he couldn't resist when a bottle of HC7 ran him about $5 in Cuba and it's $30 here.

Good thing the border agent didn't ask what the price of the rum was or he could've been dinged for the HC15 (and eventually me when he came to collect for the bottle).

I think it's sometimes the luck of the draw with whatever agent you encounter.

[RonJames]

ya sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay. But don't go jumping to do so unless asked:D I've always thought it well worth the price if I have no shot of ever getting this rum again. Ex. Ron Mulata which isn't exported to my knowledge would be an awesome pick up regardless of the tax.

[Jason]

finally I have buy

varadero 15 years
vigia gran reserva
mulata 12 years
legendario 7
and a box of the 3 kind of bottles of ron caney (oro liquero, anejo, blanco)

I had no problem to enter canada with all those bottle (7)
and no tax to paid...

they have havana club gran reserva 15 at the hotel but I have try to wait at duty free because I want to have it with me in the plane but when I got in the airport I find out that they're out of stock in all duty free of the varadero airport
so next time I will buy it at the hotel

Nice haul. I'm off to Varadero on Feb 3. Hopefully I can come back with as good a selection :)