Cuba and cocktails go back a long way. Daiquiris were purportedly being downed in the mountains of Cuba as early as the 1890's. Home of the infamous Havana rum, Havana Club and also the place where Bacardi began, the country has historically had an abundant choice of alcohol to mix with its plentiful supply of fresh fruit. Ernest Hemingway, during his stint in Cuba in the 1950's and 1960's, also did much to popularise Cuban cocktails, particularly the Hemingway Daiquiri and Hemingway Mojito: recipes still favoured by many bartenders as the optimum ways of making these drinks. With legendary bars like El Floridita, Havana and then Cuba as a whole became renowned for its tasty cocktails, and hasn't looked back since.
Having just researched the latest Lonely Planet Cuba guide, the three recipes below are the very best I discovered in the country for mojito, daiquiri and the Cuban pina colada. Also listed are the best places in Cuba to try these drinks.
Traditional Mojito Recipe
Forget mint juleps or any of the other mint drinks: the mojito cocktail, straight from Cuba and made with Havana Club light rum, is the way forward. The best place to try them in Cuba? Hostal Doña Hilda, on the outskirts of Viñales in Pinar del Río province, or the rooftop bar at Havana's Hotel Ambos Mundos.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce of fresh lime juice
- 8 to 10 medium fresh mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon of fine white sugar
- 2 ounces of light rum
- 4 ounces of chilled soda
- Ice
Method
- In a highball glass, mix together the lime juice, mint leaves and sugar until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Add rum.
- Fill up the glass with ice.
- Top off the glass with the chilled soda.
- Garnish with Mint.
The Hemingway Daiquiri Recipe
Hemingway lived in Cuba from 1949 until 1960 and he liked his daiquiris strong. This recipe uses more alcohol than the traditional daiquiri but lots of the bars and private lodging houses (casas particulares) around Cuba now mix the drink this way. Best place to try the drink in Cuba? An El Floridita cocktail, in the bar of the same name in Havana where Hemingway preferred to take his tipples, still mixes one of the best daiquiris in the world.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces of maraschino liqueur
- 1 1/2 ounces of grapefruit juice
- 3/4 of an ounce of fresh lime juice
- 1 lime wedge
- 2-3 ounces of light rum
- 1/2 a cup of ice
Method
- Put the lime wedge to one side.
- Blend together the maraschino liqueur, juices and rum together with the ice until the mixture has a smooth consistency.
- Crush the lime wedge over the side of the glass or put it in the drink to serve.
Cuban Pina Colada Recipe
A piña colada cocktail might herald from Puerto Rico originally but Cuba, true to form, has developed its own version of the drink.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces of pineapple juice
- 2 ounces of coconut cream
- Coconut shavings
- Pineapple slice
- Mango slice
- 2-3 ounces of dark Havana Club rum
Method
- Shake together the pineapple juice, coconut cream and rum with ice.
- Add coconut shavings and shake again.
- Garnish with the mango and then the pineapple.
Cuban cocktails, to those not acquainted with them, are stronger than the equivalent drinks in Europe and America. Whereas in Europe a barman will be stringent with the alcoholic measures, in Cuba, despite the above guidelines, bartenders are invariably generous with the rum servings. Caribbean fruit, particularly the pineapple, which is larger and sweeter than most varieties found in Europe, also explains the unique taste of Cuban cocktails. It's worth shopping around for a Caribbean market to buy fruit to obtain the most authentic flavour possible when cocktail making.
Luke Waterson - Author Luke Waterson writes, or has written, for various publications including Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Moon Guidebooks and The ...
Join the Conversation