Sure, you know the mojito.
It’s become synonymous with Havana, an immediate flash to La Bodeguita del Medio and Hemingway’s afternoons (and mornings).
As has the daiquiri, another Hemingway favorite, easy to make and even easier still to drink.
But there’s another Hemingway cocktail on the bar menus in Havana, and it is about to become your new obsession: the Rum Collins.
When Cuba Journal journeyed across the old village of San Francisco de Paula to meet Hemingway’s onetime chef, Fico, we naturally inquired about Papa’s favorite drinks — beyond the daiquiri and the mojito.
And Fico quickly volunteered the Rum Collins, a throwback cocktail which you’ll really only find on the menu in Cuba, even though it’s not where it was born.
The ingredients? Ice, lime, sugar, club soda and Havana Club white rum — a Tom Collins with rum in place of gin and lime instead of lemon.
It’s got the personality of a mojito, to be sure, but without the mint; in some ways equal parts mojito and daiquiri, taking the best of both.
It’s just tart enough, but just sweet enough too, the citrus dancing with the Havana Club to make for a refreshing yet substantive cocktail.
And it’s eminently drinkable, the perfect way to wash down a hot Havana afternoon.
This is an old-school cocktail in a country where the past is ever present.
And it’s time for you to try it. (We like the ones at the Saratoga’s rooftop bar).
– CJ
