When you travel to Cuba, in addition to enjoying the scenery and experiencing the folk customs, what else should you buy? Whether before departure or after arrival, the answers are very consistent: rum, cigars. But there is also a Cuban lobster not to be missed, of course, Cuban lobster is not to be taken home as a gift, but must be tasted.
Cuban lobster
The scientific name of Cuban lobster is "Eye Spot Lobster", also known as "Caribbean Thorn Lobster", together with Boston Lobster, Australian Lobster and South African Lobster, known as the world's four most delicious lobsters. Cuban lobster is not large, but the shrimp meat has a delicate taste, particularly elastic and exceptionally delicious; high protein and unsaturated fatty acid content, which is conducive to human absorption; shrimp meat zinc, iodine and other trace elements content is also higher than other similar foods.
Delicious "Cuban Lobster"
Tasting Cuban lobster is a "must-do" for almost all visitors, and the unique culinary style of the Caribbean island nation is also impressive.
Is it mouth-watering to watch?
Enjoying lobster accompanied by mint ice water and rum, while also enjoying Cuban Latin music with jazz style.
jazz band
Pianist
A photo for the hotel lady and waiter (mother and son?). ）
Rum
Rum is a distilled liquor with a high alcohol concentration (generally about 40 degrees) produced by fermentation, distillation and aging of sugarcane sugar juice. Its origin is concentrated in the Caribbean, especially Cuban products. Its history cannot be spoken of without mentioning the Italian navigator Columbus, who brought the rhizomes of sugarcane from the Canary Islands, thus opening the cultivation of sugarcane, and with the cultivation of sugarcane there was rum.
Logo of the famous rum brand "Havana Club"
During the tour, I made a special visit to the rum franchise store and related museums, which gave me a preliminary understanding of the production process and brand types of rum.
Sculpture "Cuban Boy In Love of Rum" at the entrance of the Rum Museum
Eye-catching advertisement for "Havana Club" rum
Rum processing plant model
Rum is also known as "fire wine", and it also has the nickname "Pirate's Wine", because pirates who used to run amok in the Caribbean liked to drink this spirit.
Distillery workshop
Until the 18th century, rum had become a ration for the British Navy. Due to the high alcohol content of rum, Admiral Edward Vernon decided in 1740 to mix rum with water to avoid the generals from missing the war by getting drunk.
Free rum tasting
A bar specializing in rum
In addition to the materials and craftsmanship used in rum, the quality of rum is also an important indicator.
A wine cabinet filled with a variety of rum
Three years of regular rum
Fifteen-year-old higher-end rum
Top rum (list priced at about RMB 11,000)
cigar
Cigar smoke is a high-end type of cigarette, made of whole tobacco leaves, thicker and longer than ordinary cigarettes, although there are many countries that produce cigars, but the world is recognized as Cuba's cigar smoke is the best quality, ranking first, not second.
A corner of a cigar specialty store
Why are cigars a premium cigarette? Quite simply, the best parts of the tobacco leaves are rolled into cigars, and the remaining fragments and stems are crushed into raw materials for ordinary cigarettes and pipe tobacco. Cigar smoke has always been a favorite of celebrities and aristocrats, and it is also a status symbol.
Cohiba and Partacas, one of the world's top ten brands
Hoyo de Monterrey and Bolivar, one of the world's top ten brands, are about 50-80 yuan each
Many famous international figures such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara of Cuba, former British Prime Ministers Churchill, the great writer Tagore and Hemingway, former US Presidents Kennedy and Clinton, and dictators Hitler and Saddam Hussein are all loyal fans of cigar smoke.
Fine wooden boxes of premium cigars, about RMB 300 each
Enjoying cigar smoke has to say that you should use a match instead of a lighter to light a cigarette, because the lighter will emit a chemical smell when it burns. The correct way to smoke is to suck smoothly, sip and taste slowly. When not smoked, the cigar smoke will automatically extinguish, and one cigarette can be enjoyed multiple times.
The cigar shop attendant is doing a smoking demonstration (her trademark is upman H. Upmann, one of the top ten brands)
There is also a saying that smoking cigars is less harmful to humans than smoking ordinary cigarettes (I personally do not believe such nonsense). It is important to stress that there is no doubt that smoking is harmful to health.
The famous Cuban singer Carlos, who was also a cigar lover during his lifetime
Exaggerated cigar smoke is a subject that artists are happy to express
In the streets of Havana, we can see cigar smokers everywhere.
Cuban man enjoying a cigar (2 paintings)
Read recommended: Stroll through the old town of Havana, Cuba, with a strong Caribbean atmosphere, a casual "sexual encounter"
Read recommended: Strolling through the streets of Havana, Cuba, full of vintage cars, it seems to have traveled back a hundred years
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