Guayabita del Pinar: Cuba’s Best-Kept Secret Spirit

If Cuban rum is the king of the island’s spirits, Guayabita del Pinar is its hidden crown jewel. This artisanal liqueur, produced exclusively in Pinar del Río province, is so unique that nobody dares classify it — it’s not rum, not whisky, not brandy. Locals simply call it “the delicious liqueur of Vueltabajo.”

Made from wild guayabitas — tiny fruits the size of an olive that grow in western Cuba’s pine forests — this spirit carries over 200 years of history, a recipe born in tobacco fields that conquered palates worldwide.

The Guayabita: A Fruit Found Nowhere Else

The guayabita (Psidium salutare) is a wild shrub growing between 50 centimeters and 2 meters tall in the sandy soils beneath Pinar del Río’s pine forests. Its fruits are tiny berries — no more than 1.5 cm in diameter — resembling common guava but with an intense aroma and concentrated sweetness that makes them irresistible.

As Jacobo de la Pezuela wrote in his Geographic Dictionary of the Island of Cuba: “The guayabita is the size of a cherry, with a smell and taste like Peruvian guava, but sweeter.”

The Slow Food Foundation included it in their Ark of Taste, recognizing it as endangered global food heritage.

History: From Tobacco Fields to Bottle

The Farmer Origins (18th-19th Century)

The story begins in the freezing pre-dawn hours of tobacco harvest season. Pinar del Río tobacco farmers, desperate to warm up during December and January frosts, experimented by macerating fruits and herbs in barrels of sugarcane spirits. An Asturian immigrant named Genaro Rivera had the idea of infusing wild guayabitas in brandy with lemon peel, vanilla, mint, and lemon balm.

The result was so remarkable that he set up a roadside stall to sell it.

Lucio Garay: The Basque Who Built an Empire (1892)

The real revolution came with Lucio Garay Zabala, a young Basque born in 1871 in Bakio, near Bilbao. Garay grew up watching txakolí winemaking in the Basque Country and emigrated to Cuba to make his fortune in spirits.

In 1892, Garay purchased Rivera’s formula, perfected it, and founded Casa Garay in Pinar del Río city, launching industrial production. The liqueur evolved from a tobacco farmers’ drink into a celebrated spirit across Cuba’s bars, restaurants, and celebrations.

The Song That Made It Famous

In the 1990s, beloved Cuban singer Cándido Fabré composed “Guayabita del Pinar,” popularized by La Original de Manzanillo orchestra. The son track became an anthem that spread the liqueur’s fame beyond Cuba’s borders.

The Three Varieties

Guayabita del Pinar is traditionally produced in three versions:

1. Dry (Seca)

• Character: Strong, full-bodied, similar to aged rum
• ABV: Higher alcohol content
• Best for: Straight sipping, connoisseurs

2. Sweet (Dulce)

• Character: Smooth, fruity, with vanilla and spice notes
• ABV: More moderate
• Best for: General tasting, dessert pairing, alongside Cuban coffee

3. Cream (Crema)

• Character: Creamy, very sweet
• ABV: The lightest of the three
• Best for: Cocktails, digestif, gifts

In many traditional bottles, you can find one or two whole guayabitas floating inside — a hallmark of authenticity that distinguishes it from any other spirit.

How to Enjoy Guayabita del Pinar

Neat

The most traditional way. Serve at room temperature in a small glass. The dry version is best appreciated this way, allowing the wild fruit aromas to fully express themselves.

On the Rocks

The sweet version gains freshness with a couple of ice cubes, especially in Cuba’s heat.

In Cocktails

Guayabita mixes beautifully in:

• Guayabita Sour: Dry Guayabita + lime + sugar + egg white
• Pinar Sunset: Sweet Guayabita + pineapple juice + crushed ice
• Vueltabajo Mule: Dry Guayabita + ginger beer + lime

Food Pairing

• Baracoa chocolate — sweet version with dark chocolate
• Aged cheese — dry version with manchego
• Guava paste with cream cheese — the classic Cuban pairing

A Heritage in Danger

Guayabita del Pinar faces an uncertain future. The wild plant has dramatically declined — 50 years ago it grew abundantly in the pine forests, but deforestation, climate change, and lack of cultivation programs have reduced natural populations.

In the 1980s, authorities attempted a planting program with 50,000 guayabita plants across 20 hectares in Guane, Viñales, La Palma, San Juan, and Los Palacios municipalities. However, production never recovered to historic levels.

Today, organizations like Slow Food are working to preserve this heritage. The guayabita’s inclusion in the Ark of Taste aims to raise awareness about protecting both the plant and the liqueur-making tradition it sustains.

Where to Find Guayabita del Pinar

In Cuba

• Casa Garay (Pinar del Río) — the historic production site
• Specialty shops in Havana
• Hotels and restaurants in Pinar del Río province
• Viñales Valley — artisan shops

Outside Cuba

• Multibrands (Spain) — online distribution
• Specialty Cuban spirit shops across Europe
• Cuban communities in Miami and Madrid — nostalgia product stores

A Liqueur That Tells a Story

Guayabita del Pinar is far more than a drink — it’s a living document of Pinar del Río’s history. From tobacco farmers warming their cold mornings with wild-fruit spirits, through the entrepreneurial genius of a Basque immigrant, to the son songs that celebrate it — every sip contains centuries of Cuban tradition.

If rum tells the story of the Caribbean and cigars the story of tobacco, Guayabita del Pinar narrates the story of western Cuba: land of pine forests, mogotes, and the most hospitable people on the island.

A spirit worth discovering — before it disappears.