🥃 Havana Club Añejo Especial
Cuban Havana Club rum at 40% ABV: a molasses blend, column distilled, aged up to five years; the bottle states no age.
Havana Club Añejo Especial is a blend of Cuban rums at 40% ABV, which Difford's Guide describes as aged up to five years. The bottle carries no age statement, so the figure “five” should be read as the upper limit from the description, not as a declared age. The flavour is darker and deeper than Añejo 3 Años.
According to Difford's Guide, the rum is made from fermented cane sugar molasses harvested in Cuba and distilled in column stills. The finished blend is returned to barrels before bottling; the guide calls this double ageing. The barrels are oak, and the distillate, according to the brand's production description, matures in barrels that previously held whisky.
Why this matters to you. The Especial sits between the light Añejo 3 Años and the stated-age Añejo 7 Años, so choose it by taste rather than age. Do not expect an age number on the label; there is none. Check the country of production, as markets receive different versions of Havana Club. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe amount of alcohol.
Facts
| Legal basis | Reg. (EU) 2019/787, Annex I, category 1 (rum) |
|---|---|
| EU category | 1 — rum |
| Raw material | fermented cane sugar molasses harvested in Cuba |
| Distillation method | column stills |
| Cask type | oak barrels; the blend is returned to barrels |
| Minimum maturation | no age statement; up to five years per the description |
| Alcohol (% vol.) | 40% ABV |
How it connects to Spirits
🥃 Havana Club Añejo Especial → packed in → 🍷 Oak barrel ← packed in ← 🥃 Spirits
Links
- Packed in
- 🍷 Oak barrel
- Made from
- 🥃 Sugar cane and molasses
- What it contains
- 🍷 Ethanol
- What it affects
- 🍷 Alcohol and health, 🍷 Drunk driving
- Part of
- 🥃 Havana Club, 🥃 Rum
- Similar and different
- 🥃 Havana Club Añejo 7 Años, 🥃 Havana Club Añejo 7 Años, 🥃 Havana Club Selección de Maestros, 🥃 Havana Club Selección de Maestros, 🥃 Diplomático Mantuano, 🥃 Tanduay Silver
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that Añejo Especial is aged for five years?
Not exactly. According to Difford's Guide, no age is stated, and the description says the rum is aged up to five years.
What is double ageing in Añejo Especial?
According to Difford's Guide, the finished blend is returned to barrels before bottling.
What is the strength of Añejo Especial?
40% ABV according to Difford's Guide; check the label on your bottle.
What to read next
- 🍷 Alcohol and health — Alcohol in any drink is harmful in large amounts, and the risks grow with the quantity.
- 🍷 Ethanol — The alcohol formed during fermentation that makes you drunk.
- 🍷 Oak barrel — A wooden barrel of oak staves in which wine matures and breathes.
- 🥃 Havana Club Añejo 7 Años — Cuban Havana Club rum at 40% ABV: a blend in which the youngest rum is seven years old, aged in ex-bourbon barrels.
- 🍷 Drunk driving — Never drive after drinking wine: alcohol slows your reactions.
Similar
🥃 Havana Club Añejo 3 Años · 🥃 Havana Club Selección de Maestros · 🥃 Havana Club Añejo 7 Años · 🥃 Tanduay Gold · 🥃 Diplomático Planas · 🥃 Diplomático Selección de Familia
⚠️ Spirit drinks contain alcohol and are for adults only. Alcohol harms health. Do not drink during pregnancy or before driving; check the label for ingredients and possible allergens.
Sources
- Difford's Guide: Havana Club Añejo Especial (40 %; molasses from Cuban sugar cane; column stills; aged up to five years; double aged)
- Difford's Guide: Havana Club range (Original Añejo 3 Años, Añejo Especial, Añejo 7 Años; Icónica Collection)
- Difford's Guide: Havana Club, production (two-column continuous stills at Santa Cruz del Norte and San José; ex-whisk(e)y white oak barrels; Maestros del Ron Cubano)
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787 on spirit drinks (OJ L 130, 17.5.2019), Annex I, category 1 (rum)
- WHO/Europe: No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (04.01.2023)