The walls of the aging cellar are lined with barrels up to the ceiling. In the air floats an enveloping smell where the scent of sugar, spices, ripe fruit and alcohol mingles.

A unique and changing fragrance that delights the master rum maker daily, never jaded despite the years in this state factory in the center of the country, located 270 km southeast of Havana.

"This is where the oldest rums and eaux-de-vie of central Cuba patiently rest," César Marti proudly explains, pointing to the American oak barrels in which naturally age eaux-de-vie and blends (mixtures of several of them), sometimes for more than seven decades.

At 46 years old, this Cuban with a frank smile is the custodian of a centuries-old tradition that was refined in the nineteenth century when the first modern stills were introduced on the largest island in the Caribbean where sugar mills were running at full capacity.

Cuban rum then asserts its singularity: 100% made from molasses (residue from the manufacture of sugar), a short fermentation, a discontinuous distillation and a degree of alcohol rarely exceeding 40 degrees, giving a rum called "light".

Exotic travel

Since then, Cuban rum masters have been the guardians of this tradition: "selecting the best molasses, producing brandy, ensuring blending, aging", explains Mr. Marti, who recalls how "rum is an extremely complex product to elaborate".

Today, they are a total of two "first master rums", considered the most experienced, seven master rum makers, including two women, and five "apprentices", all scattered in the various state factories of the country.

Each has been rigorously co-opted. If a university background in science is now a prerequisite, especially to improve technical processes, oral transmission remains fundamental through the daily work within the factory.

Cuban master rum maker Cesar Marti, and his "apprentice" Mitehel Niebla Lago, analyze the scents of a rum they produce, in the cellar of the "Central Rum Factory" in Santo Domingo, some 270 kilometers southeast of Havana, Cuba, March 8, 2023 © Adalberto ROQUE / AFP

This is where César Marti, who worked at the distillery after scientific studies and a childhood in the middle of the sugar cane fields, was spotted by the master rum maker of the time. He then became an "apprentice" for nine years, before being appointed master in his turn.

Twelve years of practice and a scientific thesis later, he became at 44 the youngest Cuban "First Master Rum". A path that has not escaped the French luxury giant Louis Vuitton Moët Henessy (LVMH) who asked him to create an exclusive Cuban rum now marketed in several European countries.

Because being a rum master also means "creating new products". Wet grass smell, fruity or floral flavors ... It is necessary to find the perfect assembly so that the consumer can feel "a journey through the Cuban countryside".

Always more in love

César Marti is now committed to passing on this know-how to Mitehel Niebla Lago, 42. "Apprentice" for seven years, he held several positions in the factory where the master discreetly observed his sensory qualities and his personal commitment, before offering him to take his first steps in the brotherhood.

"That's when I started to understand how important it was for our country that we are custodians of a tradition passed down through eight generations," says the apprentice.

Today, to perfect his training, he focuses on "the cultural part (of rum), its history". And rejoices, over the knowledge and responsibilities acquired, to "fall ever more in love" with this tradition.

Cuban rum master Cesar Marti in the winery of the "Central Rum Factory" in Santo Domingo, some 270 kilometers southeast of Havana, Cuba, March 8, 2023 © ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP

For César Marti, the role of the master rum maker is to "assimilate with humility" the techniques, the history, the sensory diversity of the eaux-de-vie bequeathed by the predecessors and to "be generous" with the successors so that they can continue to transmit this heritage.

Among this legacy is also a "code of ethics": if each master rum maker is attached to a factory and a trademark, all defend the quality and durability of Cuban rum. "Threats of climate change, cane cultivation, international standards", all topics that occupy their regular meetings.

Not to mention its influence, crowned in November by the inscription of this tradition on the list of the intangible heritage of humanity by Unesco. A first for a rum in the world.

© 2023 AFP