Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca

Rum Review: Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca (82.5/100)
a review by Chip Dykstra Aka Arctic Wolf

Pictured to the right is a bottle of Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca, an authentic Cuban rum which was provided for me to sample by a good friend, who just returned from the Caribbean. He asked me to take the bottle home with me,  try as much as I needed to and place the review on my Blog.   (Some of my friends think it is really cool to see the rums they love reviewed on my blog. whereas, I think it is really cool to have friends who think like that.)

I have very little information on the rum, other than what I can decipher from the label and the smattering of information on the internet where it is sold by some internet dealers as a standard Cuban white rum.

In the Bottle 4/5

The bottle describes the rum simply as ‘Ron Carta Blanca’, which simply means ‘ white rum’. The label says the rum is bottled a 38% alcohol by volume.  It is a regular flagon style bottle made for easy pouring and comes with a plastic diffuser in the stem to prevent refilling.  The label looks nice enough, but as usual I am not happy with the pressed on metal cap.

In the Glass 8.5/10

The rum is a clear rum, and I can see no visible cloudiness or sedimentation.  I might see a very light greenish colouration; but to be honest, I am not really sure about this.  My eyes might be tricking me.  The nose is clean and light, and I do not detect any underlying  harshness.  Mild brown sugars rise into the air as do hints of banana peel and a light mintiness which rounds out the nose.  A thin sheen of oil coats the glass when I tilt it and I do see some larger legs as well as many smaller ones forming.

In the Mouth 49/60

This has a pleasant clean mouth feel with a smidgen of light oil. There is no bitterness; but there is perhaps just a touch of harshness. The caramel flavour of the rum is soft, and I also taste light minty candy flavours. Flashes of vanilla present themselves, but I catch no nutty flavours at all. Some Banana peel and citrus elements appear, but they are mellowed rather than too sharp. What we have here is a nice pleasant mixer. In fact, the addition of only a few drops of cola completely dissipates the harsher elements. and provides a nice smooth flavour profile which begs to be mixed more.

In the Throat 12.5/15

This is lighter in flavour perhaps than a typical white rum and smoother too. While I do not believe it is intended as a sipping rum, the buttery texture does provide length for the finish. Although we have a mild sharpness on the exit, I am left with a candied palate, and a clean fresh mouth finish.

The Afterburn 8.5/10

I have to admit I am impressed. The  Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca is a solid white rum.  It performs very well in cocktails and I can even sip it straight on occasion.  The flavour is smoother than most white rums I have encountered and as a mixer it is definitely to my liking.

Suggested Cocktails

As a mixer this rum will perform well in almost any rum cocktail. We can mix the standard cocktails like the Mojito and the Cuba Libra, or even a Rum Swizzle. I was tempted to run a battery of cocktails through the paces, but as the rum belongs to a friend, I thought I had better temper my enthusiasm.

So I decided to make a mojito style cocktail, but one which is shorter and mixed in a ‘martini style’.  As such, the recipe is basically a mojito but with less sparkling water, shaken with ice, but served without.

I will suggest that this cocktail be called, Cuban Mist:

Cuban Mist

2 Oz White Cuban Rum (Santiago de Cuba Ron Carta Blanca)
2 tsp simple syrup
Juice from 1/2 lime
Sprigs of Mint
1  Sparkling Water
Ice

Add the Rum, the simple syrup and the lime juice to a metal shaker
Crush one mint sprig on the inside of the shaker and then add it to other ingredients in the shaker as well .
Add in ice and shake until the metal shaker frosts
Strain into a small chilled  glass
Top with sparkling water

Enjoy!