Old Cuban
When creating the Old Cuban, New York barkeep Audrey Saunders had envisioned “a Mojito in a little black dress.”
In line with this, the Old Cuban is essentially a minty Daiquiri topped with a dash of champagne, created by Saunders. Saunders is a bartending legend, popular for her work at Soho’s Pegu Club. While there, she mentored a group of bartenders that included some of the present day’s most talented lot. Beside mentoring and honing young talent, she’s also not a one hit wonder, having created many enduring drinks over time. Among them are the Gin Gin Mule and the Old Cuban. She created the latter in 2001, while working at a restaurant named Beacon, around the time that the cocktail renaissance was just beginning.
The cocktail is inspired by the Mojito but has certain tweaks that essentially give it a unique taste experience. While the Mojito uses white rum, Saunders used an aged rum in the Old Cuban. The syrup, fresh lime juice and mint are in accordance with the Mojito. But then, aromatic bitters give the Old Cuban a multidimensional experience. The cocktail is also topped with champagne, which adds a bubbly, festive, exciting element to the drinking experience.
Her invention of the Old Cuban is testament to Saunders’ penchant for taking old classics and reinterpreting them in exciting new ways. She understands how to balance flavours to create delicious and refreshing drinks. Her drinks stand strong in their own right as original creations and are an irreplaceable part of most contemporary bartender’s list of recipes.
As she says about her creation: “My goal with the Old Cuban was to create a lively yet elegant Champagne cocktail with a neotropical edge. I wanted to keep the recipe simple and straightforward, something with a sharp, clean, yet tangy profile that also provides complexity and effervescence.”
While the Old Cuban was a local hit, it's becoming a global phenomenon had to do with the circumstances around it. The Carlyle had a friendly relationship with The Ritz London, and they shared a similar posh, stylish clientele, and the two hotels often participated in brand promotions. In 2002, The Carlyle sent Saunders to London for a pop up at The Ritz, where she introduced the Old Cuban. Soon, the drink had spread across a whole new continent.
French bar owner and consultant Nico de Soto says about the drink: “The Old Cuban is probably in the top three most-sold drinks at ECC (Experimental Cocktail Club) ever. Never left the menus,” he says, and adds: “Everyone was ordering Mojitos in France, and only that, and we bartenders had had enough. So we proposed the Old Cuban instead.”
Ingredients
Method
- Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker except the wine.
- Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled elegant cocktail glass.
-Top up with the sparkling wine.
-Garnish with mint springs.
