Sips & Synopsis

• This Weeks Makings

• Trivia Question

• Drink of the Week - The Old Cuban

• Behind the Bar - The Champagne Cocktail Family

• Bonus Cocktails

• Mocktail or Zero Proof Option

This Weeks Makings.

Today’s my birthday! And that’s why this issue is coming to your inbox a little later than normal 😉.

This week we’re going to talk about a drink I’ll make when it is a real celebration and I have my kitchen bar to myself.

The Old Cuban. It is a mojito that grew up, put on a nice shirt, and asked the champagne to come along. Aged rum, mint, lime, sugar, a dash of Angostura bitters, and a float of chilled prosecco on top. Six ingredients. Two of them are optional if you want to keep it simple.

It is elegant enough to feel like an occasion, and easy enough to actually make on a Tuesday. Which is exactly what a great celebration drink should be.

In this week's newsletter:

• The Old Cuban, the modern classic that made rum bubbly

• A quick tour of the champagne cocktail family

• Two bonus cocktails, both worth an occasion

• A trivia question about where this drink was born

• A zero-proof mint limeade that mirrors the star

Trivia Question❓

Fill in the blank: The Old Cuban is essentially a __________ with prosecco floated on top.

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter

The Old Cuban

A mojito that grew up. Rum, mint, lime, and a prosecco float that turns any Thursday into a birthday party!

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz aged rum

• 0.75 oz fresh lime juice

• 0.5 oz simple syrup

• 6 to 8 fresh mint leaves

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• 2 oz chilled prosecco

• Mint sprig to garnish

Directions

1. Add mint, lime juice, simple syrup, and bitters to a shaker

2. Gently press the mint with a muddler (3 or 4 presses, do not shred)

3. Add the aged rum and ice

4. Shake hard for 10 seconds

5. Double strain into a chilled coupe

6. Top slowly with the chilled prosecco

7. Garnish with a mint sprig you have slapped between your palms

Simple syrup: stir equal parts sugar and hot water until dissolved. Refrigerated, it keeps a month.

Why It Works
Audrey Saunders invented this drink at Pegu Club in New York in 2001, and it landed on best-cocktail lists almost immediately. The mojito bones are all there, but the aged rum brings depth, the bitters bring a spine, and the champagne float lifts the whole thing into something that tastes and drinks like a proper occasion. It is one of the very few modern classics that has already earned that title. And it is exactly the drink to pour when you want the moment to feel like it matters.

Behind the Bar - The Champagne Cocktail Family

Champagne is not just for sipping. Some of the best cocktails ever made use it as an ingredient.

The trick is knowing when to use the good stuff and when to reach for the bottle of prosecco that costs eleven dollars at the grocery store.

The rule: for cocktails, prosecco is almost always the right call. Once you shake or muddle bubbles with lime, mint, sugar, and bitters, the delicate character of a $60 champagne is completely lost. Save the good bottle for a toast, and use prosecco (or a solid dry cava) in the drink.

The classics worth knowing:

• Old Cuban. Aged rum, mint, lime, sugar, bitters, champagne float. Modern classic (2001). See above.

• French 75. Gin, lemon, sugar, champagne. A Prohibition-era classic named after the French field artillery gun.

• Kir Royale. Creme de cassis with champagne poured over. Two ingredients. Elegant enough for a wedding, easy enough for a random Sunday.

• Bellini. Peach puree with prosecco. Invented at Harry's Bar in Venice in the 1940s. Weekend brunch's original hero.

• Airmail. Aged rum, honey, lime, champagne. A great cousin to the Old Cuban if you want something without the mint.

A few tools that help

• Chilled coupe glasses because bubbles stay bubbly longer in a wider glass

• Angostura bitters if the bottle is not already on your shelf (it belongs on your shelf)

• A champagne stopper so the second half of the bottle still fizzes tomorrow

Bonus Cocktails

Two more drinks worth pouring on an occasion, each with a different spirit doing the heavy lifting.

The Espresso Martini

The modern classic that made vodka feel like an event again.

Ingredients

• 2 oz vodka

• 1 oz fresh espresso, chilled

• 0.5 oz coffee liqueur (Kahlua or Mr Black)

• 0.25 oz simple syrup

• 3 coffee beans to garnish

Directions

Shake everything very hard with plenty of ice (this is what gives you the crema on top). Double strain into a chilled coupe. Float three coffee beans on the foam.

Why it works
Fresh, cold espresso is the whole thing. Instant coffee will not build that gorgeous foam. The Kahlua rounds the coffee's bitterness, the vodka gets out of the way, and a hard shake pulls all the oils out of the crema. It is a cocktail that eats like dessert.

The Vesper Martini

Because a birthday deserves at least one drink named after a spy.

Ingredients

• 3 oz gin

• 1 oz vodka

• 0.5 oz Lillet Blanc

• Lemon twist to garnish

Directions

Add gin, vodka, and Lillet to a mixing glass with ice. Shake hard (yes, shake, per James Bond's own instructions). Strain into a chilled coupe. Express a lemon peel over the top and drop it in.

Why it works
Ian Fleming wrote the recipe into Casino Royale in 1953. The gin brings the botanicals, the vodka lightens the whole thing, and Lillet Blanc adds a subtle sweetness and depth you cannot get from vermouth. It is dry, elegant, and it feels like an event.

Mocktail or Zero Proof Option

Sparkling Mint Limeade

The Old Cuban without the proof, and it still feels like a celebration.

Ingredients

• 8 to 10 fresh mint leaves

• 0.75 oz fresh lime juice

• 0.75 oz simple syrup

• 3 oz sparkling water (or non-alcoholic sparkling wine for the full effect)

• Mint sprig and a lime wheel to garnish

Directions

Add mint, lime juice, and simple syrup to a shaker and press the mint gently. Add ice, shake hard, double strain into a chilled coupe. Top with sparkling water. Garnish with a slapped mint sprig and a lime wheel.