The Arechabala family founded a distillery in Cardenas, Cuba in 1878 where they created the Havana Club brand in 1934 and sold rum under that name to markets in Cuba and the United States. The company was nationalized without compensation by the Castro government in 1960. As a result, much of the Arechabala family was forced to leave Cuba for Spain and the United States, while other members of the family were imprisoned.
The Cuban government sold rum abroad under the Havana Club name beginning in 1972, focusing primarily on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In 1977 manufacturing was moved to a new plant in Santa Cruz del Norte.
In 1993, Pernod Ricard S.A. and Corporación Cuba Ron S.A. launched the joint venture in charge of producing, marketing, and commercialising Havana Club around the world. Thanks to the production team in Cuba, the rums are now the most rewarded Cuban rum with 27 medals in tasting competitions in the last four years.
