Cuban Drinks
Early in 1805, Mr. Federico Tudor arrived in the Port of Havana. Known as the King of Ice, he convinced the Spanish authorities to allow him to open an establishment that would sell ice in Cuba, By mixing ice, rum, sugar and lemon, and a sprig of,hierba buena (a variety of mint), the quintessential Cuban drinks /cocktails was born. It is said that soldiers of the Liberation Army would tie a container to the pommel of their saddles that contained two-thirds rum or spirits and one third lemon or sour orange juice whenever they could, they would sweeten it with sugar or honey.
Daiquiri
The 19th century brought us a drink similar to the one we now call Cuba Libre , which was the combination of rum and cola and the Daiquirí,(rum, lemon and sugar poured over crushed ice ,often embellished with a dash of maraschino),invented in the Daiquiri Mines in Oriente Province.The miners but especially the engineers would frequently drink this cocktail after work and they taught the barmen at the Venus de Santiago Hotel how to prepare it with rum, lemon and ice. From,there it spread all over the country until it arrived,at the Floridita Bar in Havana, which was already a working establishment since 1819 but didn’t attain its world-recognised reputation until after the US intervention of 1902. That’s where Hemingway would drink his Hemingway Special: a daiquiri,without sugar and with a double measure of rum over ice. Legend says that the writer would spend long hours in the bar and that he would average 12 drinks per day.
Mojito
In 1910 other famous cocktails made their debut: Mojito, Jai Lai, Rum Fizz, the Santiago and the president. The 1920s were the heyday for Cuban drinks since the effects of the US Prohibition. As resulted in many American hotel, bar, casino,cabaret and restaurant owners moving their businesses to Havana. There was a veritable explosion of Cobblers Daisies and Collins. A long,list of Cuban drinks bearing the names of actors, singers,,countries and capital cities made their appearance:,the Cuban Manhattan, the Santiago Special and,the Mary Pickford that was a delightful concoction,of rum, pineapple juice and grenadine.These days a virtually endless variety of mixtures are being shaken together in many establishments all over Cuba. Some are typically Cuban and others belong to the repertoire of international cocktails, many more have been born by fusing the two. The Cuban drinks have delicious fruit juices an assortment of colours and any of the many varieties of rum available. The art of the Cuban drinks in Cuba is alive and well from the straightforward aged rum-on-the rocks right up to the complicated 7-ingredient mixes. You can’t get away from it: you absolutely,have to come and try them in one of our Havana tours.
Cuba Libre
The world’s second most popular drink was born in a collision between the United States and Spain. It happened during the Spanish-American War at the turn of the century when Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and Americans in large numbers arrived in Cuba. One afternoon, a group of off-duty soldiers from the U.S. Signal Corps were gathered in a bar in Old Havana. Fausto Rodriguez, a young messenger, later recalled that Captain Russell came in and ordered Bacardi (Gold) rum and Coca-Cola on ice with a wedge of lime. The captain drank the concoction with such pleasure that it sparked the interest of the soldiers around him. They had the bartender prepare a round of the captain’s drink for them. The Bacardi rum and Coke was an instant hit. As it does to this day, the drink united the crowd in a spirit of fun and good fellowship. When they ordered another round, one soldier suggested that they toast ¡Por Cuba Libre! in celebration of the newly freed Cuba. The captain raised his glass and sang out the battle cry that had inspired Cuba’s victorious soldiers in the War of Independence
Credit : La Havana Magazine