Cuban Cocktail No. 3

Name: Cuban Cocktail No. 3
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: Light gold rum — 45 ml (1 1/2 oz); Cognac (brandy) — 10 ml (1/3 oz); Apricot brandy liqueur — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Lime juice (freshly squeezed) — 15 ml (1/2 oz); Sugar syrup (2:1) — 5 ml (1/6 oz); Orange bitters (opt.) — 1 dash

A sour and fruity rum cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 21.1% ABV ∙

The Cuban Cocktail No. 3 is a rum sour with a little cognac and apricot brandy liqueur, plus lime and a touch of sugar syrup, served up in a coupe.

Ingredients

Servings

Garnish

Lemon twist

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-chill a glass
Shake all ingredients with ice: Light gold rum 45 mlCognac 10 mlApricot brandy liqueur 15 mlLime juice 15 mlSugar syrup 5 mlOrange bitters 1 dash (opt.)
Fine strain into the chilled glass
Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish

Tips

With only 10 ml of cognac and 15 ml of apricot liqueur, a few milliliters either way decides whether they vanish into the rum or take it over.

History

The Cuban Cocktail No. 3 belongs to a family of "Cuban Cocktails" documented in early-20th-century bar guides, where a No. 1 was built on rum and a No. 2 on brandy. This rum-and-Cognac version with apricot liqueur and lime is the one carried into modern practice through Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron's Bartender's Guide, whose 1972 revised edition is the usual cited source. No single inventor is recorded; it descends from that numbered Cuban family rather than a one-off creation.