With at least 125 different rums lining the wall and a gorgeous scent of hierba buena wafting in the air of the tiny bar, I caught on fast to this being serious drinking territory!
In fact the bar itself, El Rincon del Ron, is only part of Jorge’s restaurant, La Vieja Bodega, which houses the oldest and biggest wooden press on the south side of the island that stills stands majestically for all to admire. The restaurant is made up of different rooms, La Bodeguita, La Tajea, and El Bar de Hemmingway where you can sit for a meal or just share some pretty yummy local tapas!
But, we were here for the MOJITOS, so a couple of picture taking minutes later, our party perched on stools and waited for TILSON to prepare the first batch! Now, TILSON and Jorge are like brothers. They are wicked and not only do they serve the longest, coolest mojitos this side of CUBA, Tilson is a one man show! Theatre trained in Cuba, he’s acted in most corners of Europe, finishing with a one man performance at the Teatro Guimera in the capital Santa Cruz. Post 1 bottle of rum, I guess warning bells should’ve screamed at this point! We were the first to arrive at the bar at about 9pm and at about 2am we weren’t about to leave. It was packed. Not sure what PERCEBES, diets, horses and fashion have in common, but I found myself talking about all three! I believe a video was taken of a mojito in the making. Whoever has it, please, please don’t pass it on. I think I need to recover a bit, just. Until next time!
