Barfly prefers the outsider’s view of world history. How about Christopher Columbus? Yes, we all know that he sailed the Ocean Blue and discovered America on October 12th. Can you say boring? Sexy cocktail chatter involving the discovery of the New World became passé circa 1532. Although chatter about Columbus Day won’t get you very far in modern cocktail culture, there is a tantalizing October surprise left in the story. How about the explorer’s second, lesser known discovery? On October 27th he mistook Cuba for Japan and claimed the land for Spain.
We love a good historical “whoopsie”, and this certainly is one of them. Needless to say, the place that he discovered was not the Far East island nation. Although it didn’t have silks and spices for trade, good ol’ Chris lucked out. Cuba was home to some kick ass rum. As we learned in our mainstream history classes, the discoveries on his expedition changed the world forever. As we know from our outsider’s perspective, much drunken wackiness ensued.
This week we chose to celebrate Chris’s lesser known triumphs with a dash of Cuban heritage. Matusalem Rum was one of Cuba’s top brands until Fidel kicked it off the island. As you know, we love a good misfit. We headed down to the Rusty Knot earlier this week and noticed the rum (currently being produced in the Dominican Republic) stationed behind their expertly curated bar. We figured we should spend Monday celebrating Columbus’ discovery by making some Cuban inspired drinks at home.
The Ultimate Cuba Libre:
-2 oz. Matusalem Gran Reserva Rum
-Cola
-Wedge of Lime
-Half fill a chilled Highball or Collins glass with ice cubes, add rum and fill with cold cola. Stir gently and squeeze the lime wedge over drink and drop into glass.
To top off your celebration of Columbus Day Redux, finish three or four of these, go out into the streets, and start “discovering” new worlds like Pennsyltucky and New Upper Monrovia. Claim them for your patron nation (i.e. your two story walk up) and celebrate your triumph with another drink.
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