# Cuban Rum in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920 "2006-03-03T16:55:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920/1 "2006-03-03T16:55:01Z")
While returning from a recent trip to Mexica, I saw in one of the airport stores bottles of the Cuban rum “Havana Club”. Checking the internet when I got home, I found zero US businesses selling this, and all of the Ebay sales had a disclaimer stating that it was actually the bottle that was being sold, the contents just happened to come along with the bottle. So, does anyone have any info about the legality of Cuban rum in the US? Is it similar to Cuban cigars, in that you can, I believe, bring them back from Cuba for personal use? Is it something else? ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920/2 "2006-03-03T17:19:05Z")
Doh. Wrong forum. I’ve already requested that it be moved to GQ. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920/3 "2006-03-03T18:17:12Z")
> [@Tastes of Chocolate](#): > > So, does anyone have any info about the legality of Cuban rum in the US? Is it similar to Cuban cigars, in that you can, I believe, bring them back from Cuba for personal use? Is it something else? In this particular case, it’s to do with both the Cuban trade embargo and a decade-long legal dispute over the Havana Club trademark pitting Bacardi Ltd. against Pernod-Ricard SA and Cuba’s government, which are partners in a joint venture that sells Havana Club in 183 countries (but not the U.S.). [Here](http://www.wptn.com/back00/tmrk_020_sep00.html) is some more information. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920/4 "2006-03-03T18:26:30Z")
Your understanding about Cuban cigars is incorrect. From [this site](http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/alerts/cuban_cigars.xml): “There is a total ban on the importation into the United States of Cuban-origin cigars and other Cuban-origin tobacco products. This prohibition extends to such products acquired in Cuba, irrespective of whether a traveler is licensed by Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) to engage in Cuba travel-related transactions, and to such products acquired in third countries by any U.S. Traveler, including purchases at duty-free shops. Contrary to what many people may believe, it is illegal for travelers to bring into the United States Cuban cigars acquired in third countries, such as Canada, United Kingdom, or Mexico.” Searching for “Cuban Rum” on that page, I can’t find a similar explicit ban, but note with interest the Customs site prohibits Cuban **tobacco** products, rahter than Cuban products. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920/5 "2006-03-04T03:04:50Z")
My wife, bless her heart, smuggled Cuban cigars into the United States as a birthday present to me. I didn’t know this at the time, and hence didn’t freak out at the border and give myself away. Luckily the customs people were more worried about the meat content of my dogfood. The conventional wisdom among my colleagues was that if you took off the label-wrapper, no one knew where they came from. Cuban? Dominican? Mexican? Who knows… ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920/6 "2006-03-04T03:10:21Z")
If anyone is interested, Havana Club has a surprisingly excellent website with rum facts and history as well as drink recipies and what not. [http://www.havana-club.com/](http://www.havana-club.com/) ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-rum-in-the-us/346920/7 "2006-03-04T11:30:40Z")
Can I just say that Havana Club is my second favourite rum 9I have a soft spot for Morgan’s Spiced)? IMO much nicer than Bacardi.