A Local Legacy Forgotten

How Don Rumbotico’s international fame is slowly erasing its founders from the narrative

By Marise Solis

These days, everyone knows Don Rumbotico. Savor Quality. Only the Best. Ads in warm, rich colors, and a logo featuring a well-dressed omnic. But few outside of Havana know of the distillery’s hometown roots and controversial recent history.

“Don Rumbotico was never meant to be a major operation,” says Alicia Diaz, their many-generations-great granddaughter. We sit together in a local bar, and a giant billboard advertising Don Rumbotico—Only the Best!—is visible from the window. “Back then, it really was about quality.”

Almost two centuries ago, Clara and Basilio Diaz used their savings to open a small rum distillery. It was a modest family business, specializing in small batch, barrel-aged rum. Until 2060, few outside of Cuba knew the name Don Rumbotico, but the brand was wildly popular in Havana. Alicia, like the generations of Diazes before her,...