Localization

The Fábrica de Bebidas Casa Garay is located on Remidio Rodriguez street, between the Gerardo Medina Street and Pasaje A.

 

Opening Hours

The Casa Garay beverage factory is a rum distillery in Pinar del Río. It has been producing the rum called " Guayabita del Pinar " since 1892, a regional drink made from the fruit of a type of guava tree that grows only in the mountains of Pinar del Río. Guayabita del Pinar is made according to an ancient secret recipe and even today it is produced by manual procedures, according to the old tradition. 

History

Lucio Garay Zabala (1871- ?), one of eight children of a family engaged in the production of wine and liqueur from grapes in the village of Baquio, 10 km from Bilbao, immigrated to Cuba in 1885, when he was 14 years old, along with his older brother Fulgencio. While wandering the streets of Havana looking for a suitable work, the people he met were mostly people involved in the production of alcoholic beverages. This led Lucio Garay to believe that the alcoholic beverage trade was a profitable business in Cuba, a promising investment that would yield quick profits.

With these thoughts, he moved to Pinar del Río in 1892. As a result of the relationships he established with people who produced alcoholic beverages here, he launched the first product of the company he founded, Costals Garay y Compañía, a cognac brand called El Golbo, in 1892. In the same year, the Costals Garay y Compañía registered two more products for commercial use: El Portador, made from anise, and La Africana, another type of cognac.

Soon, a disagreement arose between the partners of the company and Lucio Garay Zabala left the partnership with his brother, taking the profits he had made from the partnership. Lucio Garay's knowledge of some of the customs of tobacco farmers was the main reason for his decision. The tobacco farmers were mixing the guayabita fruit with brandy to obtain a more flavorful alcohol. They were making this mixture at home, usually on the cold mornings, before going in to pick tobacco in the busy months of December, January, February.

As a professional distiller, Lucio Garay knew how to combine this tradition with the art of winemaking. And so it was!..Taking an already known drink, revealing its true value and patenting it as an industrial product, Lucio Garay began to market Guayabita del Pinar, which would later become the so-called "Queen" of the region, in 1892.

The beverage factory Casa Garay y Compañía was established by Lucio Garay Zavala, Salvador Baduel Carrera and Juan Bautista Aguirre in 1899. The Casa Garay, current Ceferino Fernández Viñas Factory, was located on Isabel Rubio Street # 189, between Virtudes and Sol streets. These partners already had a previous establishment where they made soft drinks at Maceo Street # 68 in Pinar del Río.

In 1900, Gregorio Barón y Llano joined the company, but after 3 years he left the partnership and in 1905 became a partner in Domingo Ocejo Gutiérrez's liquor and soft drinks factory.

In 1906, Lucio Garay Zavala became the sole owner of the company.

In 1906, Guayabita del Pinar participated in various competitions under the La Occidental brand and won several awards, including the Marketing Award in 1906, the Havana Fair Award in 1911, and the Medal at the Rome Fair in 1924.

In 1913, Casa Garay moved to Martí Street #116, at the corner of Recreo Street.

In 1926, the La Primitiva soda factory was registered at #43 Recreo Street, between Sol and Virtudes Streets, and shortly after, the La Occidental liquor factory, but La Primitiva soda was no longer manufactured and the whole factory was dedicated exclusively to the production of Guayabita del Pinar.

After the Revolution in 1959, despite the increasing state control over the production and export of national products, Casa Gray continued to increase its production.

In 1962, Guayabita del Pinar, produced by Casa Gray under the brand name La Occidental, began to be produced by the company Empresa de Bebidas y Licores de Pinar del Río. The company also increased its production variety by launching sweet and dry versions of Guayabita del Pinar and a new liqueur under the brand name Coronilla.

In 1977, with the political-administrative division, the factory passed to the Empresa Provincial de la Industria Panificadora y de Hielo (Provincial Company of the Baking and Ice Industry). From this year on, work began to rescue the production of the drink due to the great demand, as it was the only one of its kind. Therefore it was mandatory to take all measures in the production of the same.

In 1988, it won a Gold Medal at the International Spring Fair in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, achieving its undisputed status as the “Queen of Vuelta Bajo” among fine table liqueurs.

In 1993 the factory was transferred to the Empresa Provincial de Industria Alimentaria (Provincial Food Industry Company), to which it currently belongs.