Havana Club 3 Años

This is the bottle that built the mojito, and it does the job better than almost anything at the price. Havana Club 3 Años is distilled from Cuban molasses on copper column stills, laid down in American white oak for a minimum of three years, then charcoal-filtered back to a pale straw colour — a light rum with a bit more going on underneath than its looks let on.

Havana Club has been made in Cuba since 1878, and the house style is all about clean, bright spirit rather than heavy sweetness. Three years in the barrel under Caribbean heat does more than the same time would in Scotland — the tropical climate speeds everything up, so you get real oak influence despite the youthful age.

Pour it and you'll find toasted coconut, soft muscovado sugar and a lick of vanilla, with a slightly herbal, almost vermouth-like edge that keeps it interesting. The palate is gently sweet up front — think pineapple and caramelised pear — before a peppery, dry finish tidies everything up. At 40%, it's an easy pour that never turns cloying.

Honestly, this is a mixing rum first and foremost, and a cracking one. It's your Tuesday-night daiquiri, your Sunday-afternoon Cuba Libre, the workhorse on your back bar.

How to Serve

Over crushed ice in a mojito or shaken into a daiquiri with lime and a little sugar. It's clean enough to sip neat or lightly chilled if you fancy, but it earns its keep in a highball.

Where to Drink It

Order a daiquiri at the American Bar at The Savoy for the classic treatment. Swift in Soho does a fine rum-forward list. Or Soho Whisky Club if you want to nerd out on the category.

Food Pairings

A Cuba Libre alongside slow-cooked pork and black beans is hard to beat. Or lean into a daiquiri before dinner — the citrus wakes the palate up beautifully.