- Category – Spirits, rum, Cuba, 40% abv
- Available – From this month
- Location – Available in Canada
- Price – SRP of CAD$42.45 (US$35.15) per 70cl bottle
Havana Club Cuban Smoky is a 40% abv iteration, aged in ex-Scotch whisky barrels from the island of Islay. The expression will be released this month across Ontario and British Columbia before rolling out to Quebec in June.
Pernod also unveiled Canadian singer Roy Woods as a Havana Club brand ambassador in the country ahead of its debut campaign in the coming months.
Havana Club’s Canadian presence sits within the remit of beverage distributor and producer, Corby Spirit & Wine, which has handled Pernod’s portfolio in the country for 15 years.
“Cuban Smoky is the first of its kind in the Canadian market, the intense brother of Havana Club 7, and it is shaking up the rum shelves in the liquor store,” said senior brand manager at Corby Aurelie Goffinet.
Earlier this month, Pernod added a Watermelon expression to its Absolut vodka brand’s flavoured stable in the country.
The aged rum category has seen slow, but steady, growth in Canada in recent years, according to GlobalData figures. Between 2015 and 2019, aged rum increased its volumes in the country at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2%. Furthermore, the category is expected to have experienced a minimal year-on-year volumes slide of 5.9% in 2020. Looking ahead, GlobalData predicts volumes will continue to rise at a slightly diminished CAGR of 1.6% until 2024.
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