Outdated Cuban Cocktail Recipe

The Outdated Cuban is a refreshing cocktail of aged rum, easy syrup, lime juice, mint, bitters, and Champagne. In some ways, the Outdated Cuban is a refined improve on the crowd-pleasing Mojito crossed with a French 75.

This contemporary traditional was created by legendary bartender Audrey Saunders in 2001, when she labored at New York Metropolis’s now-closed Beacon restaurant. In 2005, Saunders opened the Pegu Membership, which rapidly turned an influential hub within the nascent craft cocktail neighborhood. 

Together with the Outdated Cuban, Saunders is answerable for a handful of different cocktail improvements, together with the Gin Gin Mule, that showcase her potential to modernize and replace traditional drinks with a couple of intelligent tweaks.

Sadly, Pegu Membership closed in 2020, however the Outdated Cuban and the opposite drinks that Saunders created there dwell on within the pantheon of recent mixology.

Why the Outdated Cuban works

The Outdated Cuban takes its inspiration from the Mojito, however elevates the whole lot by enhancing the substances, preparation, and presentation.

Just like the Mojito, the muse of the Outdated Cuban is the traditional bitter components of spirit, citrus juice, and sugar. The departures start with the usage of aged rum as an alternative of the white rum historically utilized in Mojitos. This provides the drink a rounder taste profile with delicate oaky notes of vanilla and caramel. Angostura bitters give the drink added stability and complexity with notes of baking spice.

The delicate nature of the Outdated Cuban requires equally refined method and presentation. To attain uniform coloration and texture, it’s essential to double-strain the drink by a advantageous mesh strainer. No person needs to see items of mint leaves floating within the glass.

In a similar way to the French 75, the Outdated Cuban upgrades the Mojito’s glowing water by topping the drink with Champagne. This provides effervescence and contributes crisp, fruity notes to the flavour profile.