Cuban Cocktail No. 3
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 24.1% ABV ∙
The Cuban Cocktail No. 3 is a rum-based sour built with cognac, apricot brandy liqueur, lime, and a touch of sugar syrup, shaken and served up in a coupe. Apricot sweetness and warm cognac depth wrap around a bright lime core, finishing dry and citrus-oiled from the twist — a lively pre-dinner pour.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
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
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Shake hard for 12-15 seconds with cube ice since the mix of rum, cognac, apricot liqueur and citrus needs firm dilution to soften the multi-spirit backbone.
- Measure the cognac and apricot liqueur precisely since at only 10 ml and 15 ml they can easily overpower or vanish against the 45 ml rum base.
- Strain into a chilled coupe rather than one straight from the freezer condensation, so the double-strain stays crisp without ice shards from a hard shake.
- Express the lemon twist over the surface before dropping it in, releasing citrus oils that lift the apricot and orange bitters notes.
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 other numbered versions 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.
