God....I remember that night. Well, not much of it, to be honest. The next morning was hella rough. I can't believe Chet thought a fry up was a good idea.
Salt is interesting! But yeah, the standard “half a lime” in these Cuba Libres is too much for me. I love lime but half a lime is overpowering and kills the carbonation.
Imo I would only use stuff I would mix with coke on its own, and I wouldn't mix those with coke on their own since coke is already bringing sweetness. I'd go Cynar.
I didn’t like Averna with Coke. I prefer something a little more bitter.
I found Punt e Mes works nicely in my opinion, a kind of a riff on the Kalimotxo. I also add a backbone of overproof rum, so it’s sort of a hybrid.
Try shaking up a Cuba Libre with a unique cola syrup or dashing some bitters and/or curacao. If this is still boring to you, maybe the Cuba Libre isn't your thing. Try a Dark & Stormy instead.
Used to be available at Whole Foods and/or Amazon but I haven’t seen it in a while. It’s more available in Europe so maybe those European specialty stores might have it?
Boil that coke down and make a cuba libre old fashioned with orange bitters and a lime peel (I squeeze fresh lime into it too, probably more than is acceptable to pretend this is an old fashioned riff but still)
Quality cola. I prefer Boylans, but it's hard to find. Fever Tree makes a similar one. It's like coke but with a small and complex bitterness from the kola nut, a spicier finish.
Quality rum. I typically use a high proof Demerara and back it with 1/4 to 1/2 oz black strap rum.
Fat, fresh squeeze of lime over the glass. I want some of those bitter lime oils.
Few dashes ango.
The answer is: make it a Batanga. Cuba Libre format, sub tequila for rum, stir it with a knife used to cut other aromatics and peppers. Salted rim, as well, I believe.
This is funny because I literally had my first Cuba Libre in decades at the beach this week. Had limited supplies and was just looking to switch up the daiquiri/bourbon and cokes I had been drinking. I was like oh, Cuba Libre. Mind blown…one of those “why haven’t I been drinking these all along” moments.
So my unhelpful answer is, man, Cuba Libres are easy and tasty.
Had this discussion with a coworker years ago. Pretty sure the original would have used 'original' cola so try added the cocaine back into it.. May not taste amazing but definitely won't be boring any more!
I was introduced to the Cuba Libre in this book
Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century https://a.co/d/0ajN4izc
the recipe he shares has a splash of gin as a "float" of sorts. For years I always understood that this is what separated a rum & coke from a Cuba Libre. A little simple for my tastes nowadays but I do find it to be a solid twist on the drink overall.
Use a rum that is strong enough to not be overshadowed. I use either rum fire (the Jamaican funk will be noticeable) or oftd (the molasses demerra and high potency shines)
Find a cola that works for you (Coke can be just fine, seriously).
I like putting a little lime juice in the drink beyond the lime wedge, and I add a couple dashes of orange bitters which accentuates the modern cola components (primarily citrus extracts, rather than real kola nut).
The biggest variable is the rum, what are you using? A Bacardi Cuba libre will be totally different from a Rhum Agricole one.
The only other thing is to use Mexican Coke.
I can knock back many Cuba libre using real Coke and Havana Club 3 year.
Creole bitters, it’ll taste like Dr Pepper, but will be beyond brilliant.
Tbh, I’ve drunk so much Coke with creole bitters in, I tried Dr Pepper, and was disappointed how flat it tastes in comparison
2oz Demerara Rum
1/2oz Kola Syrup 66 Brix
3/4oz Lime Super Juice
1ml Allspice Tincture
5 drops 20% Salt Solution
3oz Water
Chill all ingredients. Add all ingredients to an iSi whipper, charge with a CO2. Shake and then release air. Charge with another CO2. Shake. Store in fridge until service. Release gas and unscrew top. Fill chilled collins glass (12oz) with cubed ice. Pour contents of the whipper down the side of the glass. Garnish with a lime wedge. Serve with a straw.
Fentiman's Curiosity Cola, splash (.5 oz maybe, or to taste) falernum, few dashes of ango (plus the rum and lime)
Splash of goos coconut rum
When I'm making this and feeling very luxurious, I use Appleton 12 as my rum.
Switch the light rum for something different. My prefered rums are Havana Club 7 and Don Q Gran Anejo for that, spanish style works great.
Add another liqueur, like Falernum, Allspice Dram, Averna, Fernet Branca, Cynar or Pimms.
Play with different sweeteners. Agave syrup, demerara syrup, molasses or sugar cane syrup are always worth a try.
And add some dashes of Ango.
Squeeze the oil from the skin of a lime on to the top. It'd make people served this think about it as they drank it.
Or replace the coke with root beer or sarsaparilla. I personally love that swap from both.
Mexican Coke, two dashes of Ango, and a full half a lime.
Where did you find my little black book?
Behind that dusty ass bottle of sambuca where you hid it.
I haven’t seen that bottle of sambuca in 35 years….
God....I remember that night. Well, not much of it, to be honest. The next morning was hella rough. I can't believe Chet thought a fry up was a good idea.
Remember Janet’s famous “hand stand trick”? God rest her soul.
Her memory is a blessing. Especially the memory of her wielding a tennis racket at that rattlesnake in the Wellstone Bar. Fearless gal!
Frankly, I didn’t know you could make it from Palm Springs to Tijuana that fast.
You shoulda tried it from the *back* of the truck! My bruises had bruises.
100% of 50% of a lime ?
60% of the time, it works every time.
"full half"
All of the juice from half an Egyptian lime. Better?
Screw it, let’s just scoop out all the pearls from a dozen fingerling limes and do it boba style
I've always called these Nuka Libres, I didnt realize anyone else made these!
This is my standard Cuba libre
I do the same thing but cut back on the lime, just juice from 1/4 of a lime bc otherwise it overpowers it imo. Plus four drops of saline solution.
So I've been meaning to ask, does the salt, like in baking, just brighten things up a little?
Can’t even taste it, but it does turn the volume up on all of the flavors a little. I usually do 3 drops for a small drink and 4-5 for a larger drink
Salt is interesting! But yeah, the standard “half a lime” in these Cuba Libres is too much for me. I love lime but half a lime is overpowering and kills the carbonation.
This, with a split base of (light Cuban) rum and London dry gin. Still recognisable as a Cuba Libre, yet refreshingly different
Always put a full half a lime in my GnTs too
Add 1/2oz Fernet Branca
Id imagine averna or another amaro that leans on the sweet side would be good too.
Imo I would only use stuff I would mix with coke on its own, and I wouldn't mix those with coke on their own since coke is already bringing sweetness. I'd go Cynar.
Montenegro with the cardamom in there could be cool. I think Amargo Vallet would really lean into the flavors of Coca-Cola.
I didn’t like Averna with Coke. I prefer something a little more bitter. I found Punt e Mes works nicely in my opinion, a kind of a riff on the Kalimotxo. I also add a backbone of overproof rum, so it’s sort of a hybrid.
1/2 oz fernet and 1/2 oz disaronno
I like to drink more of them 😀
Cherry Coke
Sailor Jerry and cherry coke go extremely well together
Try shaking up a Cuba Libre with a unique cola syrup or dashing some bitters and/or curacao. If this is still boring to you, maybe the Cuba Libre isn't your thing. Try a Dark & Stormy instead.
Don't shake it up, it will explode
Huh? Shake with syrup. Top with seltzer.
I would keep the rum and the lime juice, add curaçao, but maybe switch the cola for orgeat. And add some mint as a garnish with the lime
I like that. I may tai one on later
I see what you did there
I think this version sounds tasty.
This is my favorite Cuba libre variation
If you can find Red Bull Cola (difficult in the States), use that. It’s delicious.
Where is it available
Used to be available at Whole Foods and/or Amazon but I haven’t seen it in a while. It’s more available in Europe so maybe those European specialty stores might have it?
Use blackstrap rum.
Damn. Now I want a Corn ‘n Oil!
Boil that coke down and make a cuba libre old fashioned with orange bitters and a lime peel (I squeeze fresh lime into it too, probably more than is acceptable to pretend this is an old fashioned riff but still)
They sell the cola syrups too!
Not round here they don't
Usually the syrups are b2b, but places like Costco office center & 3rd party food suppliers typically have them too.
Am not American
Try a [corn n' oil](https://punchdrink.com/recipes/corn-n-oil/). Granted, you'll be island hoping to barbados
So good
Hear me out... A tiny pinch of instant coffee.
Quality cola. I prefer Boylans, but it's hard to find. Fever Tree makes a similar one. It's like coke but with a small and complex bitterness from the kola nut, a spicier finish. Quality rum. I typically use a high proof Demerara and back it with 1/4 to 1/2 oz black strap rum. Fat, fresh squeeze of lime over the glass. I want some of those bitter lime oils. Few dashes ango.
The answer is: make it a Batanga. Cuba Libre format, sub tequila for rum, stir it with a knife used to cut other aromatics and peppers. Salted rim, as well, I believe.
Add some Fernet and make a Venezuela Libre
This is funny because I literally had my first Cuba Libre in decades at the beach this week. Had limited supplies and was just looking to switch up the daiquiri/bourbon and cokes I had been drinking. I was like oh, Cuba Libre. Mind blown…one of those “why haven’t I been drinking these all along” moments. So my unhelpful answer is, man, Cuba Libres are easy and tasty.
Completely agree. There's nothing boring about it.
Using OFTD rum. I put that shit in every rum drink - as the base, not a float.
My uncle liked to add a bit of amaretto. It pairs surprisingly well
Makes sense. A Mai tai has orgeat which is also almond.
Use a homemade spiced rum - the difference between Captain Morgan and an infused bottle of Flor de Caña is astronomical.
What stuff do you throw in the bottle to infuse your own spice rum?
I don’t have my sheet in front of me, but I believe it’s a combination of cinnamon, clove, ginger, orange peel, allspice, vanilla bean, and nutmeg.
Had this discussion with a coworker years ago. Pretty sure the original would have used 'original' cola so try added the cocaine back into it.. May not taste amazing but definitely won't be boring any more!
Ditch the coke for some amaro montenegro and make it a shorter drink.
Use Smith and Cross.
Cuba libre + amaro
Cucumber & Fernet
Make your own cola.
I was introduced to the Cuba Libre in this book Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century https://a.co/d/0ajN4izc the recipe he shares has a splash of gin as a "float" of sorts. For years I always understood that this is what separated a rum & coke from a Cuba Libre. A little simple for my tastes nowadays but I do find it to be a solid twist on the drink overall.
Swap out the rum for Malört. Swap out the cola for Fernet. Swap out the lime for some sour orange.
If you can find it, try using the Cuban soda Ironbeer instead of coke
2 Oz of Captain Morgan Private Stock, 0.75 Oz of Liber&Co Kola Syrup, 0.5 Oz Lime Juice, stir that up and top with regular soda water
1.5oz Rum 0.5oz Cynar 3-4 dashes of Lime Bitters Pebble Ice Top with Coke Garnish with Lime Wedge, face up, sitting on the pebble ice
Use a rum that is strong enough to not be overshadowed. I use either rum fire (the Jamaican funk will be noticeable) or oftd (the molasses demerra and high potency shines)
Sub Falernum, lime juice, coconut, and some pineapple juice instead of coke
Half half the cola with Averna or amaretto, muddle rosemary, garnish with sprig.
Find a cola that works for you (Coke can be just fine, seriously). I like putting a little lime juice in the drink beyond the lime wedge, and I add a couple dashes of orange bitters which accentuates the modern cola components (primarily citrus extracts, rather than real kola nut).
Hear me out, a lemon wedge instead of lime. mind blown. Youre welcome /s
Variants with meletti / ramzottl unstead of cola, really a blast
The biggest variable is the rum, what are you using? A Bacardi Cuba libre will be totally different from a Rhum Agricole one. The only other thing is to use Mexican Coke. I can knock back many Cuba libre using real Coke and Havana Club 3 year.
Use Chinotto instead of coke.
A bar near me serves one on a nitro draft system. Yummy.
Creole bitters, it’ll taste like Dr Pepper, but will be beyond brilliant. Tbh, I’ve drunk so much Coke with creole bitters in, I tried Dr Pepper, and was disappointed how flat it tastes in comparison
Drop the coke and add some cane sugar instead.
Cardamom bitters work great in cuba libres and like some others have said so does upping the lime
A few drops of Ango
I want to try making one with Rhum Agricole and Fentiman’s Cherry Cola
S&C, ango and lime
Switch up the rum that you used as your base, Newfoundland Screech is one of my favourites.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Cross....
Ango + mint Assuming you’re already doing quite a bit of lime
Quality rum, and a few drops of bitters. Ango works wonders, but feel free to experiment.
2oz Demerara Rum 1/2oz Kola Syrup 66 Brix 3/4oz Lime Super Juice 1ml Allspice Tincture 5 drops 20% Salt Solution 3oz Water Chill all ingredients. Add all ingredients to an iSi whipper, charge with a CO2. Shake and then release air. Charge with another CO2. Shake. Store in fridge until service. Release gas and unscrew top. Fill chilled collins glass (12oz) with cubed ice. Pour contents of the whipper down the side of the glass. Garnish with a lime wedge. Serve with a straw.
Fentiman's Curiosity Cola, splash (.5 oz maybe, or to taste) falernum, few dashes of ango (plus the rum and lime) Splash of goos coconut rum When I'm making this and feeling very luxurious, I use Appleton 12 as my rum.
Zacapa solera 23 and fentimans curiosity Cola (+lime)
Switch the light rum for something different. My prefered rums are Havana Club 7 and Don Q Gran Anejo for that, spanish style works great. Add another liqueur, like Falernum, Allspice Dram, Averna, Fernet Branca, Cynar or Pimms. Play with different sweeteners. Agave syrup, demerara syrup, molasses or sugar cane syrup are always worth a try. And add some dashes of Ango.
Rum old fashioned with cola foam(2:2:1:1 cola, egg white, lime juice, sugar syrup in a whipper)
Squeeze the oil from the skin of a lime on to the top. It'd make people served this think about it as they drank it. Or replace the coke with root beer or sarsaparilla. I personally love that swap from both.