Next time the words “rum and Coke” are about to cross your lips, give “Cuba Libre” a go. Not only will you receive the welcome tang of lime mixed in the glass, but you’ll also be voicing the historic cry: “Free Cuba!”
Before the infamous rum-and-Coke combo could be yelled across noisy bars, effortlessly stirred at home and poured out of pre-mixed cans, the archetypal order was a drink raised to freedom. ‘Cuba libre!’ – first used as a revolutionist-rallying song to fight the Spanish occupation of Cuba in the late 1800s – morphed into a refreshing icy clink to celebrate the country’s independence.
After Coca-Cola’s introduction to Cuba in the early 1900s during the Spanish-American war, the addition of locally made Bacardi rum quickly followed. Not a country foreign to a good spritz of lime either, the refreshing trio swiftly caught on. A drink destined for great things, and a name of its own, it’s said it was a US army captain who first held up the beverage with his compatriots toasting to “Cuba libre!” Safe to say, the phrase stuck.
The success of this drink also comes down to its accessibility and unpretentious nature. The cocktail’s effortless and balanced combination of warming rum, with spicy-sweet cola and zingy lime is so easy to make it can be mixed in almost the same time it takes to shout ‘Cuba Libre!’
