Rum and Pepsi-Cola are two global drinks that are popular in all countries. And together they make up the most famous and adored alcoholic cocktail “without which not a single “party” takes place in a nightclub or bar. That is why I want to talk about this sensational cocktail. Its real name sounds like Cuba Libre.

Historical facts

There are many assumptions and myths that relate to the emergence of a very common and popular cocktail in our time, rum and Pepsi-Cola. It is generally accepted that for the first time this amazing drink was made in Havana in 1900. Then the United States was fighting with Spain. Cuban patriots tried their best to help and support Spain, as a result of which soldiers from America appeared on Cuban lands.

As the legend goes, one day, an unidentified American military man walked into one of the local bars and asked the bartender to mix golden rum, Coca-Cola, ice and a few drops of fresh lime juice in a glass. The tired officer drank the drink with great pleasure that the visitors sitting nearby were interested and asked the bartender to repeat several of these cocktails. After drinking glasses of alcohol, the soldiers took a cocktail in their hands and, before drinking the drink, they loudly exclaimed “Viva Cuba libre”, which translates as: Long live independent Cuba.” The bartender remembered this toast and decided to give a name to his cocktail - Cuba libre (Cuba libre).

However, this option can be freely refuted, having in the presence of other facts. If you study in detail the history of Cuba, then formally it was liberated in 1898, and the American military left the country in the same year. And 1900 remained the date of the appearance of alcohol. Therefore, as Fausto Rodriguez claimed back in 1965, the first Rum with Cola was made in 1900 by an unknown person, as part of a signal detachment, which remained to live in Cuba.

How to make a Cuban cocktail. Rum with cola proportions

In order to prepare an alcoholic drink, we need the following ingredients:

white high-quality rum (50 ml)
cola (150 ml)
ice cubes (200 grams)
fresh lime juice (optional)
lime peel.

Manufacturing process

The main proportion of rum and cola is 1:3. This proportion is the most successful for obtaining excellent taste.

Traditionally, the drink is poured into a highball glass. This glass is filled with ice cubes. Next, the juice is squeezed out of the fourth part of the lime and white rum and cola are poured. After that, all the components of the cocktail are thoroughly and gently mixed.

The prepared Cuban cocktail is garnished with a lime wedge on top. That's all - the cocktail is ready. Now you can enjoy this wonderful drink almost anywhere.

It is hard to imagine any American youth party without this cocktail. Rum and cola is served in almost all reputable bars and nightclubs. Thanks to the available ingredients and the ease of preparation, rum-cola can be made at home. In a few minutes you will know the classic recipe and proportions of this legendary drink.

History reference. In fact, the rum and cola cocktail is called "Cuba Libre" (Free Cuba). It was first prepared in 1900 in Havana. A few years later, a new fashionable cocktail was already drunk with pleasure not only on Liberty Island, but also in the USA. Later, the culture of mixing cola with rum migrated overseas and firmly established itself in Europe.

Composition and proportions:

white rum - 50 ml;
cola - 150 ml;
ice cubes - 200 grams;
lime - 40 grams.

In the classic version of the recipe, a 1: 3 ratio is used, that is, one part of rum is mixed with three parts of cola. It is this ratio that I recommend to adhere to, since it has been developed for decades.

How to make Rum and Coke

1. Fill a tall glass (highball) to the top with ice cubes.

2. Squeeze the juice of a quarter of a lime into it.

3. Add 50 ml of white rum and 150 ml of cola.

4. Mix gently.

5. Additionally, you can decorate the cocktail with two small lime slices.

Drink through a straw without snacks.

The Cuba Libre (rum and cola) is one of the most popular alcoholic cocktails in the world. Its history, although not as colorful and long as the history of the emergence of rum itself, has been going on for over a hundred years. And according to some sources, this story began in one of the taverns of Old Havana at the very beginning of the twentieth century. On that day, not much different from others of the same kind, American soldiers rested in this tavern. The US Army deployed in Cuba at the time, supporting the national uprising, starting the American-Spanish War. Together with the Americans, Coca-Cola, which had already managed to gain popularity on the North American continent, also came to Cuba.

At some point, an officer with the rank of captain entered that tavern, and the soldiers got up, stretched out "along the line", greeting their commander. In almost complete silence, the officer approached the bar and asked the bartender to pour him two fingers of rum. After taking a small sip, the officer realized that the warm rum was not quite what he needed now, and asked the bartender to mix the rum with cola, adding ice. The captain of the US armed forces drank the resulting cocktail at once and immediately spoke out loud about the pleasure that he had just received. Only after that he gave the soldiers the command "At ease". Naturally, the soldiers watching this process immediately wanted to try what their officer had just spoken about so eloquently. And the bartender had to try hard not to delay the guests by mixing rum and cola.

Your first round of tasting the cocktail would certainly have been a success if… If only such a small amount of rum and cola mixed in a glass would be enough to be able to taste it normally. Looking at the puzzled faces of his soldiers, the officer literally gave the order to the bartender to mix rum and cola again for everyone present. As soon as this was done, the captain raised his glass, shouted the slogan "Por Cuba Libre!" (“For the freedom of Cuba!”) and, without waiting for the soldiers to take up his cry, not without pleasure on his face, drank his drink.

American troops in Cuba, turn of the 19th and 20th centuries | Photo: Wikipedia

This cry determined the future name of the cocktail, which almost instantly became a hit on the island. The popularity of the cocktail was also greatly supported by the cheapness of its components. For a long time, drinking a cocktail, which firmly included light Caribbean rum and cola, was accompanied by cries of “Por Cuba Libre!”.

Cuba Libre cocktail recipe

The classic version of this cocktail is very unpretentious, and if everything is clear with cola, then it makes sense to use Cuban rum as rum for authenticity:

One third light Caribbean rum
two thirds of cola
Ice and lime or lemon wedge

Cocktail recipe Cuba Libre: Cuban Missile Crisis

Not many people know that shortly before the imposition of the embargo on Cuban goods, another version of the Cuba Libre cocktail recipe, which was called the "Caribbean Crisis", became widespread among American soldiers. These are all the same rum and cola, but just as in wartime the value of the sine of an angle can reach three, the rum content in this cocktail also increases rapidly. In fact, in numerical terms, the proportions of rum and cola remain the same, only these values are reversed.

Alcoholic cocktails, including Rum Cola, are works of art in their own way. Their purpose is to form positive impressions and cheerful mood. No wonder they can be found in any nightclub or beach party, where it is extremely necessary to set a positive attitude. The profession of a bartender is one of the most sought after during the summer season, since during this period the largest number of both alcoholic and ordinary cocktails is consumed. One of the most popular, as world studies show, is the Rum Cola cocktail.

Content

The history of the origin and the rules for serving the cocktail &Rum Cola&
The main components of the original cocktail recipe &Cuba Libre&
Preparation of a cocktail &Rum Cola&: the choice of ingredients
The final stages of the preparation of the cocktail &Cuba Libre& and the rules for its use

1 The history of the emergence and rules for serving the Rum Cola cocktail

Each of us has heard about rum and cola. The counters of modern supermarkets are full of various variations and modifications of this cocktail. Various manufacturers contribute something of their own to the production of this drink, sometimes significantly modifying it. Some of them add spices to their products, others experiment with soda, while others replace traditional rum with fundamentally different alcoholic beverages. However, none of these solutions is even close to the original recipe, which appeared more than 100 years ago.

The traditional cocktail, made on the basis of rum and Coca-Cola, is called "Cuba Libre". He received it during the war for the independence of Cuba from the oppression of Spain. Not without reason, in literal translation, this phrase means "Free Cuba" and is part of the slogan uttered by local soldiers in those distant times. The story goes that for the first time, Cuba Libre was ordered at a local bar by a certain American military who asked to combine local Cuban rum and the traditional drink of his country, which is Coca-Cola, in one glass. It was under such conditions that the very cocktail was born, which later became one of the most popular drinks in the world.

Cocktail Free Cuba

Cubalibre - Liberty Island Cocktail
Dark rum cocktails - long drinks and shots
Vodka martini cocktail - mix but do not shake

How to drink rum and cola separately from each other - there are no special rules here. But serving a cocktail has its own characteristics. It is produced in a special highball container with a volume of 250-270 ml, in the form of a thick-walled glass cup. The use of other utensils is considered absolutely unacceptable.

Today, this cocktail is offered at any party, bar or cafe. Part of this relatively wide distribution is due to the availability of basic ingredients that can be found in any supermarket or ordinary store near the house. However, the main criterion that made it possible to conquer the world community is the taste of this drink and the effect it produces. The feeling of freshness, which every sip of the Cuba Libre cocktail is charged with, allows you not only to quench your thirst on a hot summer day, but also significantly cheer up and tune in to a positive mood.

2 Main Ingredients of the Original Cuba Libre Cocktail Recipe

Various modifications of the Cuba Libre cocktail are available in all sources of information we receive. Print and electronic publications, television programs and radio broadcasts - they all provide us with many tips and solutions to recreate some semblance of this great drink. Today, you can simply go online and download a variety of Cuba Libre recipes from there. However, it is worth recalling that only a small part of them refers to the original drink. The rest are only its pale shadow, displaying modified combinations and a set of components. Let's reproduce the original recipe for this cocktail, which in our latitudes has received a more familiar name for our ear - "Rum Cola". To recreate it, we need the following set of ingredients, which formed the basis of the traditional drink over 100 years ago:

rum - 50 ml;
coca-cola - 120 ml;
lime juice - 10 ml;
ice - 5 cubes.

Mix Rum Cola

The set of components and their mixing proportions are simple, and the products themselves can be purchased at the store. Such accessibility allows you to prepare this cocktail at any suitable occasion. And in the summer heat, it is simply irreplaceable.

3 Preparation of a cocktail &Rum Cola&: the choice of ingredients

The first step in making this cocktail is preparing the glass. Not everyone in the house has a highball, so we will use an ordinary tall glass goblet. First, pour 50 ml of white rum into it. Some may have a completely fair question: is it possible to replace light rum with a different variety of it? Of course, it is possible to make such a forgery, however, as a result of falsification, the very original taste that the traditional Cuba Libre cocktail is so famous for will be lost. This is due to the fact that white rum has a rather specific mild taste, which gives the finished drink a special piquancy and charm. The use of black or golden rum significantly diversifies the final taste characteristics of the product, since these drinks have a pronounced aftertaste that is absolutely incompatible with the rest of the components. Therefore, we will take exactly white rum, which is the main ingredient in our recipe.

The next ingredient is soda. Some argue that rum and pepsi-cola harmonize most successfully. However, it should be taken into account that this drink has a completely different taste than traditional Coca-Cola. It is sweeter and less carbonated, making it different in texture. The use of other varieties of soda is also not suitable for creating Cuba Libre, as it breaks the chain of basic taste and aromatic qualities of the finished drink. Coca-Cola, in turn, creates the necessary balance of components and gives it optimal final characteristics.

4 The final stages of the preparation of the Cuba Libre cocktail and the rules for its use

Particular attention should be paid to the lime, as it is just as indispensable in this recipe as the other ingredients.

Lime for rum cocktail

Some prefer to replace this citrus with lemon. However, this approach is fundamentally wrong, since lemon has a slightly different taste than lime. It is softer and gives the drink only some sourness, while the traditional lime has a completely different flavor. Due to the structure and the presence of essential oils in its composition in a certain dosage, lime gives the finished cocktail a spicy and bright taste, in addition, it creates unique aromatic combinations in it.

How to drink "Rum Cola"? Cocktail "Cuba Libre" is almost ready, there are only a few touches left before the final completion of the preparation of the drink. Last add ice, divided into cubes. This step will significantly lower the temperature of the drink and give it a complete appearance, as well as create the final range of flavors. As soon as the ice cubes are placed in the glass with the rest of the ingredients, the Rum Cola cocktail is completely ready and should be drunk as soon as possible before its temperature rises again.

The Rum Cola cocktail appeared more than 100 years ago, and in the time that has passed since its inception, it has managed to gain immense popularity around the world. Its refreshing and aromatic characteristics have brought immense fame to this drink, making it one of the most widely used in modern culture. The main components of this cocktail are easy to find in any supermarket. At the same time, the Cuba Libre cocktail created independently will differ significantly from analogues produced by large corporations and significantly surpass them in its aroma. You will be able to feel exactly the taste that has conquered millions of people around the world, and enjoy it to your heart's content.

Such a popular and delicious drink - rum and cola - can be served absolutely in any case: for a romantic tete-a-tete, for a party for guests or even for a family dinner. It is prepared in a matter of minutes, easy to drink (subject to the purchase of high-quality alcohol) and slowly intoxicates, cheering up the general cheerful mood. Of course, you can feel like a brave pirate, but for lovely ladies, you still need to dilute the alcohol with a little more cola. Don't forget to chill cola and rum before creating a cocktail, and also prepare ice in advance. The cocktail is served in ordinary glasses or in glasses with even and high walls. Since the cola itself is a very sweet carbonated drink, there is no need to add syrup or honey to the glass.

Composition

You will need for 1 serving:

50–60 ml of any rum
150 ml cola
3–5 ice cubes

Cooking

1. Freeze the water in special molds in the freezer about 1 hour before preparing the cocktail. If desired, instead of water, you can use the same cola. Prepare a glass and pour ice cubes into it, the amount of them is to your taste.

2. Pour in rum: for ladies - a little less, for gentlemen - a little more. Buy rum with passion: low-quality cheap alcohol can spoil the taste of a cocktail, and at the same time damage your health.

3. Fill the glass with cola, but immediately after you open it, so that a small foam appears in the glass. Thanks to this, alcohol and cola will mix themselves in a glass. Keep in mind that the colder the liquid ingredients of the cocktail are, the longer the ice in the glass will not melt.