Rum and Coke, or a Cuba Libre (; Spanish pronunciation: ['ku?a 'li??e], "Free Cuba"), is a cocktail consisting of cola, rum, and traditionally lime juice on ice.
The cocktail originated in the early 20th century in Cuba, after the country won independence in the Spanish-American War. It quickly became popular across Cuba and in many other countries, and has been one of the world's most popular alcoholic drinks. Traditionally, the cola ingredient is Coca-Cola, or "Coke", and the alcohol is a Cuban light rum such as Bacardi. However, the drink may be made with various types of rums and cola brands, and lime juice may or may not be included.
Video Rum and Coke
History
Origins
The drink was created in Cuba in the early 1900s, but its exact origins are not known with certainty. It became popular shortly after 1900, when bottled Coca-Cola was first imported into Cuba from the United States. It is associated with the heavy U.S. presence in Cuba following the Spanish-American War of 1898; the drink's traditional name, "Cuba Libre" (Free Cuba), was the slogan of the Cuban independence movement.
The Cuba Libre is sometimes said to have been created during the Spanish-American War. However, this predates the first distribution of Coca-Cola to Cuba in 1900. A drink called a "Cuba Libre" was indeed known in 1898, but this was a mix of water and brown sugar.
Fausto Rodriguez, a Bacardi advertising executive, claimed to have been present when the drink was first poured, and produced a notarized affidavit to that effect in 1965. According to Rodriguez, this took place in August 1900, when he was a 14-year-old messenger working for a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Havana. One day at a local bar, Rodriguez's employer ordered Bacardi rum mixed with Coca-Cola. This intrigued a nearby group of American soldiers, who ordered a round for themselves, giving birth to a popular new drink. Bacardi published Rodriguez's affidavit in a Life magazine ad in 1966. However, his status as a Bacardi executive has led some commenters to doubt the veracity of his story. Another story states that the drink was first created in 1902 at Havana's Restaurant La Florida to celebrate the anniversary of Cuban independence.
The drink caught on due to the pervasiveness of its ingredients. Havana was already known for its iced drinks in the 19th century, as it was one of the few warm-weather cities that had abundant stores of ice shipped down from colder regions. Bacardi and other Cuban rums also boomed after independence brought in large numbers of foreign tourists and investors, as well as new opportunities for exporting alcohol. Light rums such as Bacardi became favored for cocktails, as they were considered to mix better than harsher dark rums. Coca-Cola had been a common mixer in the United States ever since it was first bottled in 1886, and it became a ubiquitous drink in many countries after it was first exported in 1900.
Spread and popularity
Rum and Coke quickly spread from Cuba to the United States. In the early 20th century the coctail, like Coca-Cola itself, was most popular in the Southern United States. During the Prohibition era from 1922-1933, Coca-Cola became a favored mixer for disguising the taste of low-quality rums, as well as other liquors. In 1921 H. L. Mencken jokingly wrote of a South Carolina variant called the "jump stiddy", which consisted of Coca-Cola mixed with denatured alcohol drained from automobile radiators. After Prohibition, rum and Coke became prevalent in the Northern and Western U.S. as well, and in high-brow as well as low-brow circles.
Rum and Coke achieved a new level of popularity during World War II. Starting in 1940, the United States established a series of outposts among the British West Indies to defend against the German Navy. Their presence created cross-cultural demand, with American servicemen and the locals developing tastes for each others' products. In particular, American military personnel took to Caribbean rum due to its inexpensiveness, while Coca-Cola became especially prevalent in the islands thanks to the company shipping it out with the military. Within the United States, imported rum became increasingly popular, as government quotas for industrial alcohol reduced the output of American distillers of domestic liquors. In 1943, Lord Invader's Calypso song "Rum and Coca-Cola" drew further attention to the drink in Trinidad. In 1945, the Andrews Sisters had a major hit with a version of the song (plagiarized by Morey Amsterdam), which further boosted the drink's popularity.
Maps Rum and Coke
Recipe variations
The Cuba Pintada ("stained Cuba") is one part rum with two parts club soda and just enough cola so that it tints the club soda. The Cuba Campechana ("half-and-half Cuba") contains one part rum topped off with equal parts of club soda and cola. They are both popular refreshments, especially among young people.
Other recent variations are the Cuba Light made with rum and Diet Coke, and the Captain Pepper made with Captain Morgan and Dr. Pepper.
Another variation of the Cuba Libre is the Cuban Missile Crisis. Compared to a normal Cuba Libre, it uses a higher proof rum, such as Bacardi 151 (75.5%).
A variation of the Cuba Libre popular in the West Indies is a "Hot" Cuba Libre which includes a splash of Caribbean hot sauce (for example, Capt'n Sleepy's Quintessential Habanero, or Matouk's).
Some people substitute cream soda and spiced rum to create a bright gold drink, often referred to as a Midas.
Another common variation is the use of "golden" or "dark" rum as opposed to white rum. This variation is the most commonly used in Venezuela.
Local variations
- In Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, a drink created by American contractors with BAE Systems, who were prohibited from drinking alcohol by General Order 1 while in the country, the "Kabul Libre" is straight Coca-Cola with a squeeze of citrus.
- In Australia, the more popularly known drink is simply Rum and Coke or "Rumbo", which contains no lime, commonly uses a local dark rum and can be purchased in cans as a ready-to-drink. However, the combination of light rum, brown sugar and cola is commonly ordered at cocktail bars as a Cuba Libre.
- In Austria, there is a version with just cola and a certain brand of Austrian rum (Inländer Rum) which is called Rüscherl.
- In Brazil, there is another variation, made with cachaça and lemon without peeling, it is known popularly as Samba-em-Berlim (Samba-in-Berlin).
- Often the drink is called Cuban for the original mix and White Cuban when coke is replaced with Sprite or 7up.
- In Chile and Spain, Cuba Libre is also called Ron-Cola and Cubata. In Spain it is commonly used dark rum, not light.
- In Costa Rica, it is normally known as Ron-Coca, although a low calorie variation called Tico Libre is made with gold or dark rum, diet cola and garnished with lemon for a refreshing finish.
- In the Cayman Islands, the beverage is generally consumed with a dark rum, rather that the traditional white rum.
- In Czech Republic and Slovakia, Kofola, a popular local soft drink, is frequently used instead of coke. Also, the rum is often substituted by Tuzemak.
- In the Dominican Republic it is a popular drink poured with a generous amount of locally produced Dominican Rum (i.e. Brugal, Bermúdez, etc.) and cola, topped off with a slice of lime. Dominicans also have a variant called the Santo Libre in which the cola is substituted with Sprite.
- In Finland the drink is most commonly referred to as a Rommikola ("Rum with cola"); and in Iceland romm í kóla (or í kók that reads as: in "coke") means the same. It contains light or dark rum depending on the preference of the consumer and a dash of lemon or lime juice. Rommikola is usually garnished with a slice from the fruit from which the juice is extracted. In some restaurants and bars the name Cuba Libre is used to emphasize that the rum used is of Cuban origin.
- In Germany, like in many other European countries, the most common variation of the drink is Rum and Coke, called Rum-Cola or Cola-Rum in German. Sometimes, dark or spiced rum is used instead of light rum. In eastern Germany, the variation with dark rum is sometimes considered to be connected to Ostalgie, since a popular bottled ready-to-drink product with dark rum and with the very generic brand name "Cola Rum" existed in East Germany from the early 1970s until German Reunification. Other common names are Bacardi-Cola and Havana-Cola, named after the known rum brands.
- In Greece Thessaloniki, there is another variant, that consists of "retsina" and cola, named "toumba libre". "Toumba" is the name of a neighborhood in Thessaloniki.
- In India, the more popularly known drink is simply Rum and Coke, which contains no lime (but lemon juice is used by some), commonly uses a local rum (such as Old Monk). Mixing cola with hard alcoholic beverages like Whisky, instead of rum is quite popular in India. Some people in India even use other soft-drinks instead of Coke to change the flavor.
- In Kensington, Philadelphia, Rum is mixed with Passion Fruit La Croix Sparkling Water to make a "Kenzo Libre".
- In Mexico, it is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks and it is usually referred to simply as a Cuba.
- In the Netherlands the drink is usually served without lime and commonly referred to as Baco, from the two ingredients of Bacardi rum and cola (even though many bars don't serve Bacardi, the term baco is widely used.)
- In Newfoundland, there has been a long history of trading dried salted codfish to the West Indies, usually for rum, molasses and spices. Newfoundland Screech, a rum which is actually made in Jamaica, is popularly mixed with coke - without lime. One variation to this drink is called the Tom Morry - which involves equal parts dark rum, water and coke.
- In Nicaragua, when it is mixed using Flor de Caña (the national brand of rum) and cola, it is called a Nica Libre.
- In Puerto Rico, a variation called "Spicy cherry" or "Spicy vanilla" is made of spiced rum, cherry coke or vanilla coke, and garnished with a lime.
- In Peru, a variation called Peru Libre is made with pisco rather than rum.
- In Poland, when it is mixed using Burn and rum, it is called a Poland Libre. This, because Burn is a popular drink to mix in Poland and the drink turns white and red (the colors of Poland).
- In Russia Cuba Libre without the lime juice is called Rock-n-Roll Star, after a popular song that features the recipe. Any distilled spirit could be substituted for a rum in a pinch, but these variations generally do not have any specific names.
- In Venezuela the Cuba Libre Preparado ("Prepared Cuba Libre") includes a dash of gin and a dash of Angostura bitters.
References
Notes
External links
- Media related to Cuba libre at Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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