Cuba Libre
INGREDIENTS
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- 2 oz light rum
- 4 to 6 oz chilled cola
- Garnish: Lime wedge
INSTRUCTIONS
Squeeze the lime half over an ice-filled highball glass, and drop it in. Add the rum, top with cola, and stir. Garnish with the lime wedge.
VIDEO HOW-TO
NOTES
Although this classic has a bit of a reputation as a sweet, youth- oriented drink, when made correctly, with lots of fresh lime juice, the sweetness of the cola is refreshingly counterbalanced.
🥃 A Toast to Freedom: The Birth of the Rum and Coke
The drink traces its roots back to Cuba in the early 1900s, during the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. American soldiers were stationed in Cuba, and they brought their Coca-Cola with them — a new and popular soda from back home. The locals, of course, already had access to one of their prized national spirits: rum.
One night in Havana, legend says a U.S. Army captain ordered a Cuban rum mixed with Coca-Cola and a squeeze of lime. He raised the glass and toasted: "¡Por Cuba libre!" — “To a free Cuba!” in honor of Cuba's newfound independence from Spain. The phrase stuck, and so did the cocktail, which came to be known as the Cuba Libre.
Over time, when made without lime, the drink became more commonly referred to simply as Rum and Coke, especially in the U.S. and abroad.
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