Ron Cubaney Gran Reserva 15 Year Old

Description

We heard you…’MORE CARRIBEAN RUM!’ you said…so more CARRIBEAN rum is what we got! The rums gods are smiling on us with this one – we’ve found an estate with a cache of Ron Cubaney 15 year old Gran Reserva – Did we plunder it all… OH HELL YEAH!

For our Members Extra, we’re proud to feature a truly legendary multi-multi-award-winning Cuban-style rum. The Ron Cubaney 15 year old Gran Reserva is possibly the hardest to find of all the Ron Cubaney Rums. We certainly haven’t seen any for a few years and when the chance came up to acquire a very limited quantity via ‘a mate of a mate’ we jumped straight on it!

Built on the hard work of the Oliver family and destroyed by revolution – not once but TWICE! The Ron Cubaney Gran Reserva 15 year old is a multi-award winning 15 year old solera-aged rum made to the recipe of the Oliver family’s original distillery.

NOTE: THIS IS CRAZY LIMITED SO PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO MEMBERS WHO ALSO PURCHASE THE RUM OF THE MONTH!

Aged in the traditional Cuban method in a solera system using both American bourbon and French wine casks, this is rich and complex rum that is a delight to share amongst your (closest) friends.

The Ron Cubaney Gran Reserva 15 year old is aged using the traditional ‘Solera Method’. The solera method is based on stacking multiple layers of aging barrels (called “criaderas”) on top of each other, with each layer progressively topping up the next one down and blending with it, year after year. The word “solera” comes from the Spanish word “suelo” which means “floor”. So as the angels take their share, the barrels are topped up with the contents of the slightly younger barrel and the average age of the barrel slowly increases over the years. The purpose of this labour-intensive process is the maintenance of a reliable style and quality of the rum over time.

Our Tasting Notes

Unfortunately, yours truly come down with the dreaded ‘Rona during writing this and I have completely lost all sense of taste and smell. Luckily, Kirk Pinner from Island Coast Rum has been visiting Brisvegas and has kindly taken on the role of ‘guest rummer’ for the month.

Nose: A sweet soft caramel, with brown sugar, gentle sweetness and lightness to the nose and appearance.

Palate: Very easy to sip at 38% ABV with soft and subtle flavour. A combination of toffee, vanilla, sugary sweet lollies and rich butter jump out and intertwine nicely.

Finish: Gentle going down with a touch of sweetly toned caramel, with the brown sugar from the nose coming back to the fore. Almost a soft jersey caramel lolly.

From Ron Cubaney

The many years in oak has given this rum suppleness with notes of fruit and tobacco. Built on the hard work of the Oliver family and destroyed by revolution – not once but TWICE! The Ron Cubaney ‘Gran Reserve’ 15 year old is a multi-award winning 15 year old rum made to the recipe of the Oliver family’s original distillery. Aged in the traditional Cuban method in a solera system using both American bourbon and French wine casks, this is rich and complex rum.

About Ron Cubaney

Cuba has long held a distinguished reputation as a leading global producer of rum, with the late nineteenth century witnessing the Oliver family’s emergence as creators of some of the finest Cuban rum. Juanillo Oliver, a Catalan and Mallorcan, initially arrived in Cuba as a Spanish soldier in the mid-nineteenth century, later settling in an area known as Oliver near Las Placetas.

Establishing their roots, Juanillo and his family ventured into tobacco and sugar cane cultivation, eventually handling, storing, and selling their traditional products. Constructing a mill for sugar cane processing, Juanillo found himself crafting local, artisanal rums and brandies.

The Oliver family’s name became synonymous with superior central Cuban rums and cigars, but their fortunes changed with the Cuban revolution. The War of Independence saw separatists attack and destroy the Oliver family distillery, leading them to shift their focus away from sugar cane production after Cuban independence in 1959.

Following the revolution, many Oliver family members fled Cuba, scattering across Europe and the Americas. In the late 1980s, Pedro Ramon Lopez Oliver – a new-generation descendant – returned to Cuba and delved into his family’s history. Discovering original formulas in family archives, Pedro and the descendants committed to reviving the lost Cuban rum brand.

In the early 1990s, the Oliver family, led by Pedro, began developing their rums in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic, naming it Ron Cubaney after their rediscovered Cuban ancestry. The Dominican Republic, sharing similar climate and topography to Cuba, became the ideal location for resuming the production of Cuban-style rum.

The family-operated distillery sought guidance from Cuban Maestros Roneros in exile, bringing decades of experience in Cuban rum production. Recreating nineteenth-century techniques, heritage, and formulas, the Oliver family ensured authenticity in the process, still adhered to by present-day Maestros Roneros Cubanos and technicians.

Starting with the purchase of 100,000 liters of aged distillates from a Demeraran source, the plant produced the first stock under the new Cubaney name. This marked the revival of the Ron Cubaney brand after a century-long hiatus, offering a range of light, dark, and spiced rums for enthusiasts to savor today.