What's In A Name? A Lot, If Your Name Is Havana Club

A rather ballsy marketing campaign for a rum made in Puerto Rico.

With a name can come great expectations. Name your slow-pitch softball team the Yankees and you’re making a statement — hey, we’re serious here, we came to win. A graffiti artist who goes by DaVinci is not trying to infer he’s got average skills. An entrepreneur who releases a product called This Candle Smells Like My Vagina… well, I’m not entirely sure what to make of that one, although it’s probably the only candle whose name I remember.

But to get to my point, when you name a rum Havana Club, you’re not just invoking one of the most legendary names in rum, you’re dredging up a lot of history and politics and commerce as well. When you examine the reasons why Bacardi decided to name its decidedly non-Cuban rum Havana Club, especially when there’s a genuine made-in-Cuba Havana Club available everywhere in the world except the United States, the reasons are not entirely craven and deceitful. At the same time, however, you’ve got to have a product in the bottle that’s worthy of the name. DaVinci can’t spray-paint sloppy stick figures; the Yankees can’t just play for laughs. And Havana Club can’t just be an ordinary rum.

So is it? You’ll just have to read my review and find out, won’t you! Check it out at Liquor.com (link is right… over… -> HERE <-).