Something fun and a little different to do in Cartagena is a rum tasting.
It’s a chance to learn a bit about the Caribbean’s most famous spirit, learn some history, and best of all or course, sample some tasty rums you might not order off a menu on your own.
There are a few places that offer rum tastings in Cartagena, and most rum tours in Cartagena do a joint rum and chocolate tasting.
That was the case with the Cartagena rum and chocolate tasting I did at Lunático Experience. I really enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it if you’re looking to do a rum tasting in Cartagena.
Read on to learn all about my experience doing this great rum and chocolate tasting in Cartagena, Colombia.
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Rum Tastings and Rum Tours in Cartagena
I first started becoming a fan of rum during my study abroad semester in Havana, Cuba.
Cartagena is reminiscent of Havana in so many ways, with its historic status as a major colonial era port and charming historic architecture.
However, unlike Cuba, neither Cartagena nor Colombia are particularly well known for its rum.
The two most well known rums in Colombia, Ron Medellín and Ron Viejo de Caldas, are both produced in the interior, sort of surprising considering the Caribbean’s association with rum.
Still, Cartagena, on the Caribbean coast after all, is certainly a good locale to enjoy some rum, and a neat way to do that is with a Cartagena rum tasting.
In fact, it’s a good way to sample the lesser known but good rums produced in Colombia and Cartagena!
There two pretty well known and regarded rum tastings in Cartagena:
I did the tasting at Lunático and really enjoyed it, and this review will focus on it.
I also did a cooking class here with my mom and had a great time doing that too. Read about our cooking class here.
I actually tried to do the one at El Arsenal to compare and, well, to have an excuse to drink some more rum.
However, they required at least 2 people to book the full rum and chocolate tasting and do only private tastings and won’t combine you with a larger shared group like at Lunático.
They did tell me they offer a flight of rums you can do anytime at the bar, but I appreciated that Lúnatico offered the opportunity to join a group since I was doing this solo.
If you aren’t flying solo like I was, you might want to check it El Arsenal’s tasting too.
My Experience Doing the Cartagena Rum Tasting at Lúnatico
I actually planned to do my Cartagena rum tasting in the afternoon after doing the fun and unique coffee tasting at Café del Mural nearby in the morning.
However, they messaged me that morning saying I was the only one signed up for the afternoon tasting and asking if I wanted to move to the 8 pm tasting.
For what it’s worth, they were willing to do the tasting for me alone, but I opted to do the night time tasting, which I definitely think was the right call since it was more fun with a group.
I do think that afternoon tasting might be a bit dangerous too, since I definitely left with a buzz.
Both the afternoon or night tasting would definitely be good ways to start an evening enjoying the Cartagena nightlife though!
Anyways, I actually did stick by my plan come by Lúnatico in the early afternoon for lunch (their food is really good), spent some time taking photos and walking around Getsemaní and came back for the night tasting.
When I arrived I was greeted by our rum expert Luz, a Cartagena native, who I thought was great. She was knowledgeable, nice, and was a great host.
She started by telling us a bit about sugar cane production, how it’s turned into molasses, panela, or refined sugar before also explaining a bit about the history and production of rum.
I appreciated that the explanation was interactive, with Luz passing around molasses and panela (unrefined sugar cane) for us to taste as she explained that most rums are made from molasses.
I also appreciated the tiny little copper replica of a still and a small barrel.
Our first taste of liquor was actually not rum though!
It was Viche.
El Viche is a liquor made from sugar cane that was traditionally homemade on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, almost like a moonshine. Besides the intoxicating effects, it was also traditionally used for medicinal purposes.
Long looked down upon and even technically illegal to produce, it was designated a heritage product in 2021 and is now commercially produced and distributed with Colombian law only allowing its production on the Pacific coast.
I had never had Viche and really didn’t know much about it, so this was actually probably the highlight of this tasting for me. It reminded me a little bit of mezcal, but it was more sweet than smoky.
By the way, I sampled some more Viche later in the trip at Bazurto Social Club, a great place to go dancing and one of the few places that serve it.
After our lesson on Viche, we learned a bit about aguardiente, often called guaro and by far the most popular liquor among Colombians (and well known to me).
It’s also made from molasses and includes anise, which gives it its distinctive flavor.
We did a shot of the popular Aguardiente Antioqueño from Medellín and also tasted one named Desquite, distilled using traditional, artisanal methods and using panela instead of molasses. I’m not a huge fan of aguardiente, but I did like Desquite a lot more than the standard guaro.
So, to count, that’s 3 drinks before we had any actual rum!
To be clear, these weren’t exactly full shots, maybe they were like 1/2 to 2/3 a shot, enough to take a few small sips or besitos. Still, like I said before, I definitely got a buzz by the end of the tasting.
We tried 6 rums.
We started with a lighter one that was minimally aged but was made from panela rather than molasses, which was interesting.
We progressed to darker and longer aged rums. I didn’t note the ages of all of them, but they were from the 8-15 year range. We didn’t try anything bottom shelf or anything truly tippy top shelf either.
All of them were Colombian made and each was from a different brand.
Some of the rums, like offerings from Ron Viejo de Caldas and Ron Medellín, I had heard of, and some like Quimbaya I had not. We had one rum, Gobernador, that is made in Cartagena. Dictador, which we didn’t try is also made in Cartagena and quite good.
Each rum was paired with a piece of chocolate, some lighter and darker chocolates and some having fruit. All the chocolate was from a brand named DaVida and is made from Colombian grown cacao.
I thought they were all tasty and paired nicely even if I’m not exactly a chocolate pairing connoisseur myself.
I enjoyed all the rums we tried too
I appreciated being able to pick up on the subtle differences between shorter aged and longer aged ones. I would have liked one really premium longer aged rum though since most were of a similar quality.
They do offer a more expensive VIP tasting that I imagine includes some more speciality and rarer rums, but, considering that even this regular tasting is still on the pricier side for Cartagena, I would have liked one rarer, special one.
In a nice touch, they do provide you with a coupon for 20% off any future experience you book directly with them and give a 10% discount on any food you order during the tasting.
They also sell bottles of rum and full chocolate bars at the end of the tasting.
Finally, my Cartagena rum and chocolate tasting ended with Luz showing us how to make a cocktail and letting us each make our own.
So, if you’ve been counting that’s 10 drinks total, viche, two aguardientes, 6 rums, and a cocktail. So, while a bit pricey, it’s not a horrible value, and you should leave this Cartagena rum tasting feeling pretty good.
Want to do this Rum Tasting in Cartagena yourself?
Overall, I had a really good time at this Cartagena rum tasting.
I enjoyed the rum, and I thought Luz did a great job hosting and telling us about the history, production, and the characteristics of each rum.
I definitely recommend it if you’d like to learn a bit more about rum during your visit in Cartagena.
You can book the rum and chocolate tasting at Lúnatico on GetYourGuide, on Viator, or with them directly.
They also offer a Colombian craft beer tasting and a cocktail mixology class that both sound interesting in addition to the cooking class, which I can vouch for is excellent.
I hope you found this review and write up of my experience at Lunático’s Cartagena rum and chocolate tasting useful and informative. If you do it yourself, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Let me know what you thought in the comments!
Cheers and Happy Exploring!
Planning a trip to Cartagena?
Be sure to check out the rest of the site to help you plan!
In particular, you might want to check out my complete guide to planning a trip to Cartagena, my guide to the best areas to stay, my list of over 75 things to do, my picks for the best Cartagena tours, the best day trips from Cartagena, my suggested packing list, my guide to the Rosario Islands, and my guide to all the beaches of Cartagena.
