Havana is one of those cities that gets under your skin in ways you can’t fully explain. It’s exhilarating and melancholy at the same time — the music is everywhere, the buildings are crumbling magnificently, and the rum is outstanding. If you’ve been, you know. If you haven’t, get out of your resort and go.
These two cocktails are my tribute to that particular flavour of bittersweet. Both use Havana Club Reserva — because if you’re making a Cuban Manhattan, you may as well commit. The first is a proper Cuban Manhattan: stirred, strained, serious. The second is the Red Roosevelt, my own twist on the same idea, which adds fresh orange juice and goes in a different, slightly louder direction.
Cuban Manhattan
A stirred, spirit-forward cocktail that swaps rye for dark rum — Havana Club Reserva specifically. Cleaner and more aromatic than a whiskey Manhattan, with a richness from the vermouth that the rum handles beautifully. Stir it long, strain it cold, and don't skip the cherry.
Ingredients
- 60 ml Havana Club Reserva dark rum
- 22 ml Sweet red vermouth (Martini Rosso preferred)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 dash cherry bitters (or orange bitters — see notes)
- 1 maraschino cherry (garnish — or orange twist if using orange bitters)
Equipment
- Mixing glass
- Bar spoon
- Strainer
- Cocktail coupe or champagne coupe
Mise en place
- Chill your coupe in the freezer for at least 5 minutes, or fill it with ice water while you build the drink.
Method
- Fill your mixing glass with ice. Add the Havana Club Reserva, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters, and cherry bitters.
- Stir steadily for about 30 seconds — you want it properly cold and properly diluted. This is a stirred drink, not a shaken one.
- Discard the ice from your coupe. Strain the cocktail into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry. If you went the orange bitters route, use an orange twist instead: rub the rim, give it a twist over the glass to express the oils, and drop it in.
Notes
Now, the Red Roosevelt. Same family of drink, different personality. The addition of fresh orange juice makes it slightly brighter and more accessible — less austere than the Cuban Manhattan, more of a crowd-pleaser. Still strong. You’ve been warned.
Red Roosevelt
My own riff on the Cuban Manhattan. Same dark rum base, same sweet vermouth, but fresh orange juice joins the party and pulls the whole thing in a warmer, citrus-forward direction. It's a shaken drink, served without ice — strong, orange-y, and a little bit loud. Two people have made this and come back to tell me about it in the comments, so it can't be all bad.
Ingredients
- 67 ml Havana Club Reserva dark rum
- 20 ml Sweet red vermouth
- 15 ml Fresh squeezed orange juice
- 10 ml Simple syrup (to taste)
- 1 dash orange bitters
- 1 long strip orange zest (garnish)
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker
- Strainer
- Rocks glass or coupe
- Potato peeler
Mise en place
- Fill your glass with ice to chill it while you build the drink. Wash the orange, then use the potato peeler to take one long strip of zest off the rind — as little white pith as possible. Squeeze the juice of half the orange into a small bowl.
Method
- Fill your shaker with ice. Add the rum, sweet vermouth, fresh orange juice, simple syrup, and orange bitters.
- Shake for a count of 12. Not a suggestion.
- Discard the ice from your glass. Strain the cocktail into the chilled glass.
Presentation
- Rub the orange zest along the rim of the glass, then drop it in. Drink carefully — it hits harder than it looks.
Notes
READ MORE: GARIBALDI SPRITZ — Another rum-adjacent way to ruin your afternoon
