Calling a rum-and-Coke a โ€œCuba Libreโ€ sounds a little pretentious, but just name-checking the main ingredients undersells this delicious, enduring cocktail by a lot. Traditionally made with rum, Coca-Cola, and lime, the Cuba Libre is a legit classic, over a century old and both Cuban and American in origin.

Our version calls for either lime or lemon juice plus Black Walnut Proof Syrup โ€” a pleasantly nutty, surprisingly tropical-tasting addition thatโ€™s delicious with light rum.

Speaking of rum? Regular white-label Bacardi is what this recipe calls for, but use what youโ€™ve got โ€” or experiment with an aged, gold, or spiced version. One of the beautiful things about rum and Coke is that that combination works so well together, itโ€™s hard to mess up.

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Ingredients

  • 1 ยฝ oz White Rum
  • ยฝ ozย Black Walnut Proof Syrup
  • ยฝ oz Lemon or Lime Juice
  • 3 oz Coca-Cola to Top
  • Lemon or Lime Wheel to Garnish

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Tools

  • Jigger
  • Shaker
  • Strainer
  • Rocks Glass

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Steps

  1. Measure rum, juice, and Proof Syrup into cocktail shaker; add ice and shake until well combined โ€” or just build this in the glass by pouring ingredients over ice.
  2. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and top with Coca-Cola. Give a quick stir โ€” enough to combine without killing the fizz.
  3. Garnish with lemon or lime wheel.

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What Youโ€™ll Need: