Cuba Libre
Rum and cola with a battle cry: the Cuba Libre is a toast to freedom that became one of the world's most-ordered drinks. Ingredients: Cuban-style rum (white or gold), cola, fresh lime, ice. Method: 1) Fill a tall glass with ice. 2) Pour in the rum and cola. 3) Squeeze in a generous wedge of lime — the lime is not optional; it is what separates a Cuba Libre from a plain rum and cola — and drop it in. The experience: caramel cola lifted by citrus and the clean snap of rum — simple, cold, endlessly drinkable. History: it was born in Havana around 1900, just after the Spanish-American War, when American cola met Cuban rum and an officer is said to have raised his glass to a free Cuba — “¡Por Cuba libre!” The name stuck to the drink forever.