Origin
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Cuba was more than just a place with glamour, party and tourism. Santiago de Cuba, to the east, was the place in Latin America to be an entrepreneur. Visionaries made it their home and founded long lasting companies. Santiago de Cuba offered the rum’s perfect ecosystem to raise the bar and become the polished spirit we know today.

The Golden Age
The island´s charm, its vibrant nightlife and exquisite Art-Deco architecture made Cuba the Paris of the Americas. Between the 1930s and 1950s, prohibition in the USA made it the perfect destination for Americans, some such as Ernest Hemingway, even ended up living on the island. During the Golden Age, Matusalem was the most popular golden rum and perfect partner to enjoy the island’s spirit.

The aging’s savoir faire
The barrels are selected by the family and the “Santiago Master Blender” and lightly charred to achieve those unique Matusalem tasting notes as well as its taste consistency. The microclimate in Dominican Republic and Santiago de Cuba’s are quite similar, a key reason why this place was chosen to establish the new Matusalem Rum production facility in 2015. This process, called dynamic aging, a mix of barrels placed on different height above ground, gives rums a very particular aging with aromatic and floral notes. There is also the angel’s share, the 4,5% of rum that we lose in evaporation every year.