Cuba Libre Cocktail

Cuba Libre Cocktail Story

What distinguishes a Cuba Libre from the ubiquitous rum and coke? Charles H. Baker decried the necessity of squeezing a lime wedge at the bottom of the glass before adding anything else in 1934’s The Gentleman’s Companion. But there’s more: the Cuba Libre Baker was referring to goes back to at least 1900, to Havana during the Spanish-American War. “Cuba Libre!” was indeed the celebratory rallying cry behind Americans and Cubans alike, who could be found clanking refreshing glasses of Cuban rum and American Coca-Cola in the local bodegas. Coca-Cola was, of course, a different product back then, made with kola nut and coca extract from Peru. Cuban rum was also widely available and continued to be popular throughout the World Wars until the embargo era of the ‘60s, when the fear of nuclear war had Americans shouting “Cuba Libre!” no longer. Despite the changes in Coca-Cola recipes and the shuffling of political relations, the rum and coke remains a wildly popular duo. As for the Cuba Libre, our best approximation to recreate the original is to experiment with quality Cola, your favorite aged rum, and of course, that squeeze of lime.