Whereas Prohibition did a serious number on the American Bourbon and imported spirits market, the same could be said for the Cuban Revolution's impact on the rum trade. Sure, the sugar and tobacco trade were more directly affected, but rum was also a casualty in the centralization of the economy following the ascendancy of Castro in the early 1960s. The Arechabala family fled Cuba during this time, taking up residence in Florida. When they fled, they took the recipe for Havana Club with them. However, the Cuban government repatriated the stills and began selling Havana Club through a joint venture with Pernod Ricard. Most people who have had Havana Club lately are tasting the results of this state-owned enterprise.
That is with the exception of people who buy Havana Club in Florida. There you will find a rum made in Puerto Rico by Bacardi. This is apparently from the Arechabala family, and has recently been available because the US Patent and Trademark Office vacated Cuba's claim to the Havana Club copyright. Long story shortened: There are now two Havana Clubs.
If this sounds familiar, you may be thinking of the schizophrenia associated with the Budweiser name. There are two companies who produce beer under the Budweiser label: Anheuser-Busch and Budejovicky Budvar. These two beer companies have been battling in court for the last half century to try and claim ownership of the name. The results have been varied with each company getting sole ownership of the name within a country. There are a few execptions like the UK where the courts decided that both companies have right to the name, but these countries are rare. One thing rings true for all of these, and that's the lawyers are making a killing in legal fees as both companies battle each other in court.
So the tiny Czech town of Budejovicke and the capital city of Havana meet as sister cities in the courts as two huge drinks companies sit on opposite sides of the gavel, hoping to make money off the spirit of a place name. Will the courts come to a consensus on common sense? The indications from the Budweiser cases are that they won't, and so drinkers in various jurisdictions will need to look at the backs of their bottles to figure out who won the battle in their part of the woods.
Do I have an opinion? Sure, but it's not driven by taste. Personally, I think that creating a product connected with a place name intends for the consumer to connect with that place. If I saw a bottle of "Havana Club" I would presume it was produced in, well, Havana. Budweiser, regardless of its American connection, refers to a beer produced in Budweis (the German equivalent of Budejovicke)... or at least the style of beer produced in that region. Ultimately I side with Pernod and Budvar on this for linguistic grounds, and leads into a further tangent as it relates to whisky.... something I'm calling "Still Ventriloquism".