Why Is A Rum And Coke Cocktail Called A Cuba Libre?

You probably know what a rum and coke is, and if you didn't you could probably make a pretty good guess: it's a mixed drink made of rum and Coca-Cola. You also probably know what a Cuba Libre is: it's a rum and coke served with a wedge of lime. But, what's the difference between regular rum and coke and a Cuba Libre? Is it just the lime? And why is the Cuba Libre even called that in the first place?

Well, to figure that out, we need to answer that first question. Even though the only difference between a rum and coke and a Cuba Libre is the addition of the lime wedge, the garnish isn't really what sets the two apart. Instead, the difference comes from the type of rum that's used. While a regular rum and coke can be made with any rum, a Cuba Libre is almost always made with Bacardí(it's not just for making rum cakes). In fact, according to the popular story (conveniently bandied about by Bacardí itself), this brand of rum was used in the first Cuba Libre cocktail.

The Spanish-American War saw the United States fighting against the Spanish Empire to get them out of the Americas once and for all, and one of the ways they did this was by supporting Cuba's war of independence. Although the motivation was hardly altruistic (heck, the inciting incident of the USS Maine explosion may or may not have been an inside job), there was undoubtedly some camaraderie between the United States troops and the Cuban freedom fighters. Supposedly in 1900, one American officer poured Coca-Cola (in the days before anyone could get their name on a bottle) into some Bacardí rum, added a squeeze of lime, and toasted "Por Cuba Libre!", or "to a free Cuba!"

Don Draper himself couldn't write a better ad for Bacardí rum. It symbolized the (at the time) strong relationship between America (Coca-Cola) and Cuba (Bacardí), resulting in a tasty cocktail to boot. A bit of skepticism is understandable, and there's not exactly a ton of proof that the story is real. A man named Fausto Rodriguez claimed to see it firsthand, but considering he was an ad man for Bacardí, we can't exactly take his word for it. But, the drink was undeniably popular — and still is — in Cuba and elsewhere.