Ingredients
Drink
- 50 mlwhite rum
- 120 mltomato juice
- juice of ½ lime
- 4dashes hot sauce
- 3dashes Worcestershire sauce
- a pinch of salt
- a pinch of black pepper
- ice
Garnish
- 1lime wedge
- 1celery stalk
Directions
- Fill a tall glass right to the top with ice, so the drink stays cold without being watered down.
- Add the salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire straight onto the ice first, so they distribute through the drink rather than sitting on the surface.
- Add the lime juice and then the rum.
- Top up with tomato juice, leaving a little room at the rim for the rolling that comes next.
- Roll the drink rather than shaking it: pour it back and forth between the glass and a shaker tin two or three times. Shaking aerates tomato juice and leaves it pale and frothy.
- Garnish with a lime wedge and a stalk of celery.
- Serve very cold. It is Cuba’s answer to the Bloody Mary, swapping vodka for the island’s own rum, and the rum gives it a rounder, faintly sweet edge that the vodka version does not have.
Technique
- White rum keeps it clean. An aged rum fights the tomato rather than sitting under it.
- Season it before the volume goes in. Salt and pepper will not disperse properly through a full glass.
- Good tomato juice matters more than good rum here.
Substitutions
- Tabasco or any cayenne hot sauce.
- Passata thinned with water if you have no tomato juice.
Variations
- With a celery salt rim.
- Made much hotter, which is common in Havana.
- With a splash of the brine from a jar of olives.
History
Cuba’s answer to the Bloody Mary, swapping vodka for the island’s own rum.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cubanito?
Cubanito is a cocktail from Cuba: rum with tomato juice, lime, salt and hot sauce over ice. Cuba’s answer to the Bloody Mary, swapping vodka for the island’s own rum.
How long does Cubanito take to make?
Cubanito takes 5 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Cubanito?
Yes, within limits. Tabasco or any cayenne hot sauce. Passata thinned with water if you have no tomato juice.
What is the most important thing to get right in Cubanito?
Add the salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire straight onto the ice first, so they distribute through the drink rather than sitting on the surface.
