Best Cuba Libre Cocktail Recipe

Cuba Libre is one of the simplest and most famous cocktails and is an official IBA cocktail based on three ingredients: rum, cola and lime. It has a bolder and stronger flavor than the Rum & Cola which is prepared without lime.

The history of cuba libre

The name of this long drink derives from the island of Cuba and the joy of its inhabitants who celebrated in the street the liberation from Spain in 1898 obtained by fighting alongside the United States. American and Cuban soldiers used to mix cola with rum and, according to a legend, a soldier asked the American Bar on Calle Nettuno for a cocktail with American coca cola, Cuban rum in a glass filled with ice and lime and toasted "Por Cuba Libre ". The most reliable hypothesis is that it was born in Havana between 1900 and 1902 during the Spanish-American war in order to unite two symbolic products of the two countries.

How to make cuba libre

Pour the ice into a tall tumbler to cool it and drain the excess water. Add the rum, cola and lime juice to the glass and mix. Serve with a wedge of lime.

Tips and variations

The Cuba Libre ranges between 20 and 30 degrees but the trick to making a perfect cocktail is to perfectly adjust the doses in the highball glass so in order not to overbalance the flavor of the long drink. If you are looking for a sweeter taste, add half a lime cut into four parts, replace the lime juice with the lemon juice and add two teaspoons of brown sugar to have a pounded cuba libre. In another variant, called Cubotto, the cola, on the other hand, is replaced with chinotto.