Audrey Saunders, Bemelmans Bar, New York, 2001.
| 1½ oz · 45 ml | AGED RUM | 40 % |
| ¾ oz · 22 ml | LIME JUICE | |
| 1 oz · 30 ml | SIMPLE SYRUP | |
| 8 leaves | MINT | |
| 2 dashes | ANGOSTURA BITTERS | 44 % |
| 2 oz · 60 ml | CHAMPAGNE | 12 % |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 3.31 oz mixed with ice, 0.63 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.66 oz of water |
| Topped | Poured after the melt, kept whole: champagne 2 oz, +0.24 oz of alcohol |
| Served | 3.31 + 0.66 + 2 = 5.97 oz in the glass, 0.87 oz of it alcohol |
| Strength | 0.87 ÷ 5.97 = 14.5 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.87 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 20 g · about 142 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM AGED RUM · from oak barrel aging
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
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FROM MINT · the cooling sensation
A cyclic alcohol that hijacks TRPM8, the same cold-sensing receptor that fires when the skin actually hits a cool surface. The "cooling" sensation is neurological, not thermal; the drink isn't cold, the nerves just think it is. Peppermint carries the most; a mojito gets a fraction of the real thing from muddled mint leaves. Same chemistry powers menthol cigarettes, cough drops, and the post-shave aftershock of anything labeled "icy."
ALSO IN Mojito · Mint Julep · Stinger · Grasshopper · Whiskey Smash · Cynar Julep · Eastside · Maid in Cuba
FROM CHAMPAGNE · the dominant grape acid
The dominant acid in grapes and the reason wine tastes sharp instead of flat. Forms crystals ("wine diamonds") when bottled wine gets cold; harmless, sometimes filtered out, sometimes left in as a mark of authenticity. Without acid, wine is sugar water.
ALSO IN Mimosa · Champagne Cocktail · French 76 · Negroni Sbagliato · Kir Royale · Kir · Black Velvet · Death in the Afternoon
Aged rum, lime, sugar, mint, Angostura and Champagne. It is the Mojito elevated to black tie: aged rum instead of white, Champagne instead of soda. The notes are carvone from mint, vanillin from rum and CO₂ from Champagne.
Audrey Saunders created the Old Cuban at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel in 2001. The drink applies the cocktail-revival principle of 'classic technique, premium ingredients' to a Mojito template. Aged rum (rather than white) gives the drink oak structure that survives the champagne dilution. The Old Cuban became one of the defining drinks of the early 2000s American craft revival; Saunders's later bar Pegu Club featured it prominently.
