Cuban Cocktail No. 2

Name: Cuban Cocktail No. 2
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: Light gold rum — 45 ml (1 1/2 oz); Maraschino liqueur — 5 ml (1/6 oz); Grenadine syrup — 5 ml (1/6 oz); Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) — 5 ml (1/6 oz); Orange bitters (opt.) — 1 dash; Sugar syrup (2:1) — 5 ml (1/6 oz)

A fruity and sweet rum cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 22.3% ABV ∙

The Cuban Cocktail No. 2 is a shaken rum sour of light gold rum, maraschino, grenadine, lemon juice and sugar syrup, with an optional dash of orange bitters.

Ingredients

Servings

Garnish

Lemon twist

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-chill a glass
Shake all ingredients with ice: Light gold rum 45 mlMaraschino liqueur 5 mlGrenadine syrup 5 mlLemon juice 5 mlOrange bitters 1 dash (opt.)Sugar syrup 5 ml
Fine strain into the chilled glass
Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish

Tips

The maraschino, grenadine, sugar syrup and lemon juice are 5 ml each, so measure them precisely; at that size a small slip throws the whole drink off.

History

The name "Cuban Cocktail No. 2" has been used for two distinct drinks. Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book, published in London in 1930, lists a Cuban Cocktail No. 2 built from apricot brandy and brandy, shaken and strained into a cocktail glass, alongside a separate rum-based Cuban Cocktail No. 1.

The rum, maraschino liqueur, and grenadine version known today under the same "No. 2" name instead traces to the 1972 revised edition of Victor Bergeron's Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide. Bergeron, the American restaurateur and bartender known as Trader Vic, ran his own Polynesian-themed bar chain and compiled decades of cocktail recipes into that guide. There this lighter, fruitier rum sour appears under the Cuban Cocktail No. 2 name, distinct from Craddock's earlier brandy-based drink of the same title.