Matusalem

Matusalem rum was originally founded by two brothers Benjamin and Eduardo Camp in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba in 1872. However, the family and brand went into exile from Cuba and the rum is today bottled in the Dominican Republic.

The name Matusalem comes from a Spanish proverb “Esto es mas viejo que Matusalem” or "It’s older than Methuselah". Methuselah is a 969-year-old person from the Old Testament.

 

 

Matusalem is known as the ‘cognac of rum’. Matusalem was inspired by the distillation and blending principles used by Spanish wine, brandy, and sherry.

Exceptional smoothness, with woody notes and flavours of honey, vanilla, and spices is expected in Matusalem rum.

 

 

Matusalem is produced from molasses. Their rum production is inspired by the Spanish methods of producing wine, sherry and brandy, which includes the Solera system. This makes Matusalem the pioneer of using this practice.

A Solera system is where barrels are stacked, with each layer connected to the one below. The bottom barrel will always have the oldest rum. The barrels above include younger rums. After an agreed time, the bottom row will be drained for blending and bottling. The rum from the barrel above will then drain into the barrel below. The process continues until the top barrel has space for more new distillate. If done correctly, the barrels will never be completely drained. Therefore, some older rum will blend in the barrel to age again. Thus, a small amount of the rum from when the system was first filled, will remain for an extremely long time.

Matusalem also focuses on barrel toasting. The barrels are selected by the family and the “Santiago Master Blender”. They are then lightly charred to achieve those unique Matusalem tasting notes as well as their taste consistency. This creates an unmatched flavour profile.

Matusalem is home to a variety of expressions. Gran Reserva 15, 18 and 23 are known for their smoothness and complex taste profile with the 15 y.o being the flagship product of Matusalem. Rum Platino is an aged cristalino rum with triple distilling and double filtering. Solera 7 is an exceptionally versatile golden rum and great for cocktails. Rum Insolito is the world's first rose-aged rum. Anejo blend captures the style of Cuban rums. Clasico complements the collection with the embodiment of the Caribbean's exotic flavour.

 

Matusalem was established in 1872 by brothers Benjamin and Eduard Camp, with partner Evaristo Alvarez.

After the Cuban revolution in 1959, the family and the brand went into exile, establishing themselves in the United States. The Cuban government carried on making rum in the former Matusalem factory in Santiago de Cuba.

Many family feuds followed the family’s leave from Cuba over who owned the brand.

During the ‘golden ages’ of Cuban history between the 1930s and 1950s, Matusalem was the most popular golden rum on the island.

 

 

Three branches of the family started feuding in 1981, resulting in court cases that lasted into the mid-90s. It all ended in 1995 when the great-grandson of the founder, Dr Claudio Alvarez Salazar, gained control of the Matusalem trademark in an out-of-court settlement.

In 2002, Matusalem & Company was relaunched. The brand wanted to focus on its Cuban roots, though the rum is produced in the Dominican Republic. In 2016 the brand also opened its own ageing and bottling facilities in the Dominican Republic.