After doing so many Mixing through Grog Log posts filled with tasty tiki drinks i now feel like doing a classic rum drink and was reminded of the Old Cuban cocktail by Douglas Ford over at Cold Glass.
The Old Cuban cocktail was invented by Audrey Saunders of New York’s Pegu Club and the original recipe used Bacardi 8 rum. But i didn´t have the Bacardi 8 either and so i reached for Smith & Cross. This is an excellent rum cocktail and very nice now when it´s summer.
Think of this cocktail as a grown-up mojito with a bit more complexity and aroma.
THE OLD CUBAN COCKTAIL
1.5 oz dark rum (Smith and Cross)
1 oz simple suger (Demerara)
0.75 oz fresh lime juice
1–2 dashes Angostura bitters, to taste
6 leaves of fresh mint
sparkling wine to top (champagne or prosecco)
Muddle mint and juiced lime hulls lightly. Add rum, syrup, bitters and lime juice. Shake until well chilled. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top up with champagne or prosecco. Garnish with mint or sugared vanilla.
I wanted to make a twist of it as well staying true to my habit of playing around with cocktails. I´m somewhat into chocolate right now for some reason and so i decided to add some chocolate flavors to the party adding a little bit of the excellent Mozart Dry Chocolate Spirit, a dash xocolatel mole bitters and a whiff of fresh chocolate mint and came up with the Chocolate Cuban.
Here´s the recipe, hope it pleases somebody:
CHOCOLATE CUBAN
1.5 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
0.5 oz demerara sugar syrup
0.5 oz fresh lime
0.5 oz Mozart Dry chocolate spirit
1-2 dashes xocolatl mole bitters
6-8 leaves fresh chocolate mint
Prosecco to top
Muddle mint and juiced lime hulls lightly, be careful with the mint, it will become bitter if muddled too hard.
Add rum, Mozart Dry, xocolatl mole bitters and lime juice and shake well with ice cubes.
Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with mint and/or sugared vanilla.
I think chocolate goes very well with the Old Cuban and chocolate and vanilla are as we know old lovers. I really like the chocolate version of the Old Cuban.
These two cocktails are perfect on a warm summer evening, try them!