Hotel Nacional

Hotel Nacional cocktail

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float a lime wheel on the surface of the drink.

The bar at Havana's Hotel Nacional de Cuba was a famous celebrity hangout in the 1930s. According to The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book this was one of their signature drinks.

The drink is not on our top shelf but results probably depend more than most drinks on the quality of the fruit. We squeeze fresh pineapple for the pineapple juice. (Squeezing pineapple segments is a bit fiddly but leaving the skin on helps.) We also use high quality apricot liqueur, Marie Brizard Apry, but you could also try Rothman & Winter. The pineapple shines clearly but does not dominate—the tartness of the lime is also very much present and it blends surprisingly well.