Old Cuban

Audrey Saunders

Nov 26

Sometimes the box begets the cocktail, and sometimes it’s the other way around. The Old Cuban Cocktail is a modern classic, and is also one of my wife’s all-time favorite drinks. You wouldn’t have to force one on me either. We discovered this incredible cocktail one fateful evening while people watching and dining at one of Houston’s swankiest restaurants, Brasserie 19. My wife has this incredible ability to score us a prime seat at the bar during peak dining times at the most popular eateries in town, no reservations needed. She does this with parking spots, too, which we have dubbed her “parking karma”. So I guess this is her “restaurant seating with prime people watching at the bar karma”, henceforth to be known as “barma” for short. Once settled into these choice seats, I will often chat with the bartender. On this occasion I asked the bar manager, John, for something with aged rum, and soon after we were presented with this magnificent cocktail. The Old Cuban is built off of a daiquiri foundation – white (clear) rum, lime juice and simple syrup. If that’s not what you think of when you hear “daiquiri”, you have been poisoned by strawberry slush which has frozen your brain. We’ll revisit the daiquiri on these pages soon, but right now we have other places to go. If you like a mojito, you’ll realize it’s also built off of these basics (white rum, lime juice and suger) and has the addition of mint and club soda. The Old Cuban is the sophisticated older sibling to the mojito. It replaces the clear rum with aged, dark amber rum (the one from story above used Mount Gay XO, which remains the best choice in my opinion, although there are many excellent alternatives). And it replaces the club soda with … wait for it … champagne! The result is incredibly alluring, rich and delicious. This is a drink you could sip all night long. The Old Cuban was invented in modern times, by Audrey Saunders of the Pegu Club in New York City, and we are eternally grateful to her.