Ron Santiago de Cuba Extra Añejo 11 Años

Pour yourself a glass and settle into a comfortable armchair - that’s the mood Ron Santiago de Cuba evokes in me. The brand gave its entire range an exemplary visual refresh a few years ago, but it was the Extra Añejo 11 Años that immediately caught my eye.

The label is measured and composed. Its deep navy palette sets a distinctly evening-like tone, evoking depth, gravitas, and authority, while touches of burgundy add a note of timeless elegance. The design subtly nods to the principal colours of the Cuban flag. The whole is anchored by bold gold typography and an ornate emblem occupying the centre.

The image offers a visual interpretation of the brand’s claim: Donde mar, cielo y tierra se encuentran (“where sea, sky and land meet”). There, the Sierra Maestra range meets the Caribbean Sea, while a solitary star - a symbol of the country’s independence - hovers above the horizon. No barrels, distilleries or sugar cane. Rather than telling the familiar story of rum production in literal terms, the design offers a more cohesive narrative of the rum’s origins, rooted in the terroir of Cuba’s Oriente region.

And indeed, know-how is an integral dimension of terroir. UNESCO has recognised Saberes de los Maestros del Ron Ligero Cubano as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The tradition dates back to Santiago de Cuba in 1862, where the craft and knowledge of the rum masters have been passed down continuously from one generation to the next ever since.

Yet terroir is defined above all by environmental conditions, and Oriente is characterised by a hot climate, high humidity, and intense sunshine. At the same time, the region is also contending with a persistent lack of rainfall and increasingly parched soils. Water availability - or, increasingly, its absence - has become an existential concern for sugar cane cultivation, with consequences extending to the local rum industry. The situation is further exacerbated by the rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather events associated with climate change.

You can never say it too often: climate change is a fact. It is happening before our very eyes, regardless of what anyone may believe or think. To deny its existence or minimise its consequences is neither an expression of intellectual independence nor an act of courage in defying the mainstream. It means turning one’s back on the very foundations of science - the same science that has enabled us to venture into space.

The scientific method, after all, is not founded on faith, but on the continual questioning of hypotheses, their rigorous testing, and attempts to falsify them. Scientific consensus is built on theories that survive repeated attempts to disprove them and are independently confirmed by researchers. As it happens, anthropogenic climate change ranks among the most robustly established and thoroughly documented findings of modern science - comparable in evidential strength to evolution, plate tectonics, and the microbial cause of disease.

If the politician of your choice says otherwise, remember that they are still just a politician. And they are not the fool here. Their motives may fall into two categories. The first is cynical calculation. Since the effects of climate change are delayed, adaptation requires substantial investment, and the transition means changing our habits, undermining the rationale for climate action is simply the easiest and remarkably effective way to build electoral capital.

The second motive is the defence of fossil fuel industry interests, pursued by downplaying the scale of the problem, sowing doubt, and delaying the adaptation measures that are needed. Neither strategy has much to do with concern for the public good. And neither exactly puts the intentions behind them in the best light, does it?

Cuba’s rum production is entirely controlled by the state monopoly Corporación Cuba Ron S.A. (Cubaron). That makes the green Sello de Garantía Nacional de Procedencia sticker something more than a branding detail: it is an official mark certifying the product’s origin, mandatory for rum destined for export.

The bottle also carries the D.O.P. Cuba designation, a protected designation of origin reserved for rum made according to a defined set of requirements. These include the use of Cuban sugar cane molasses and the traditional ron ligero method, with continuous distillation in columns and mandatory copper contact. The spirit must then undergo an initial maturation of at least two years in white oak barrels, followed by activated-carbon filtration, before it can be classified as rum.

The next stage involves blending under the supervision of the Maestros del Ron Cubano. This is also when the age statement on the bottle begins to count: 11 Años in this case refers only to the second maturation stage. Significantly, the appellation allows neither added flavourings nor artificial manipulation of the spirit’s flavour profile.

One detail is worth noting: blending is a collective endeavour within the Movimiento de Maestros del Ron, so individual releases are traditionally not attributed to a specific master. Nevertheless, the maestros with direct ties to the Ronera Santiago de Cuba distillery can, at least in principle, be identified: Tranquilino Palencia Estruch and Julio Enrique Ayan Rial.