Cuba Guide
Santiago de Cuba
Museo del Ron
Address: One block south of Calle Heredia, at San Basilio no.358 esq Carnicería
Opening time: Mon– Sat 9am–5pm
Price: $2CUC, entrance includes a Spanish- English- or German-speaking guide
The Museo del Ron explores the history and production of Cuba's most popular liquor. The collection includes a number of antique machines used in the various stages of rum production, from the extraction of molasses from sugar cane to the ageing and bottling of the rum. Occupying the fine nineteenth-century home of Mariano Gómez, who was in charge of managing the Bacardí family's enormous wealth, the museum is replete with Carrera marble floors, glittering chandeliers and red-and-green vitrales. There is a rather dingy on-site bar, but you get a free shot with admission.