Cuba Libre Cocktail Recipe
Rum and cola sharpened by fresh lime — that squeeze of citrus is what separates it from a plain rum and coke.
- Category: Contemporary Classics
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 11%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- White rum50 ml (1.7 oz)
- Cola120 ml (4.1 oz)
- Fresh lime juice10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
- Build the white rum and the fresh lime juice over the ice.
- Top with cold cola.
- Stir gently and garnish with a lime wedge.
Garnish
Lime wedge
What it tastes like
It drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- White rum
- The Cuban style is light and dry, the Puerto Rican a little rounder. It is the base of the mojito and the daiquiri; swap in gold rum and the drink turns sweeter.
- Cola
- Full-sugar and diet cola do not give the same drink: diet leaves the body thin and the spirit exposed. Plenty of ice and cola added last keeps the fizz.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
The Story
The drink is associated with Havana around the turn of the twentieth century, once cola reached the island, and takes its name from the Cuban independence slogan '¡Cuba libre!'.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Cuba Libre mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Cuba Libre?
- Roughly 11% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Cuba Libre be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Cuba Libre hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.