The forbidden fruit.

I remember the first time I tried Havana Club. We were in Florida, and I was at Walmart picking out rum, and I had heard of this rum, though I was under the impression that it was unobtainium. But this one was bottled in Puerto Rico… sneaky sneaky! I figured that the Cubans just shipped their barrels to Puerto Rico, bottled it there, and sold it as “Puerto Rican rum”. Nope. My god, it’s gross.

So, we recently had a trip to the Dominican Republic. This was before I did proper rum reviews, or even knew what to look for in a rum, so all I can really say is that I enjoyed Brugal Extra Viejo quite a bit, but I couldn’t give you any more details. That’ll have to be a review for a different day. However, at the airport on the way back home, I saw the real Havana Club in duty free, and decided to grab a bottle of the 7 year (as it was the most aged and most expensive, therefore objectively the best). Then, as I was checking out, I decided to grab the other two (3 and Añejo Reserva) just for good measure. I understand that Añejo Blanco, Añejo Especial, and 15 year (and maybe some others) also exist, but these were not options at the airport.

Review

Smell

Notes of vanilla, caramel, and oak, but also a much stronger smell of alcohol.

Taste

The flavor is rather oaky and bitter, with notes of caramel. It’s actually bitter to the point of being unpleasant. There’s an interesting almost cherry-like aftertaste, however.

In a daiquiri, it makes a very bitter daiquiri. If you like a bitter drink, this may be for you, but I didn’t even finish mine.

In a mojito, it’s more bitter than the other two, but actually, since they’re watered down much more than a daiquiri or drinking it straight, this level of bitterness is more managable, and even somewhat interesting.

Verdict 4.5/10

(Edited from 5/10 on 1/20/26)

I believe that a lot of the appeal of these rums is the verboten nature of their acquisition, but judging them objectively, they’re good rums, but not something that can’t be beat by other Spanish-style column still rums.

Añejo Reserva was a disappointment. I don’t know why there’s this trend— I noticed the same with Appleton, where Signature was my favorite, 12 year my 2nd favorite, and 8 year just kind of the most disappointing. Likewise, Reserva, being approximately 5 years aged, is my least favorite of the bunch. It has redeeming qualities, but for the most part, it was too bitter and alcohol-forward to enjoy. 5/10.

January 20, 2026 Update:

These have kinda not stood the test of time.

Anejo just gets worse. It just tastes so bitter and sad that the bad almost cancels out the good. Between trying to figure it out or just go with the tried and true Bacardi… it’s a tossup for me. So I give it a 4.5/10.