Garnish:
Pineapple (or lime) wedge on rim
How to make:
SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
| 1 2/3 fl oz | Gold rum (1-3 years old mellow light) |
| 1/3 fl oz | Giffard Abricot du Roussillon liqueur |
| 2/3 fl oz | Pineapple juice (fresh pressed) |
| 1/2 fl oz | Lime juice (freshly squeezed) |
| 1/3 fl oz | Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°brix) |
| 4 drop | Difford's Daiquiri Bitters (optional) |
Read about cocktail measures and measuring.
AKA:
Hotel Nacional Daiquiri, The Nacional Cocktail and simply Nacional
Review:
A fruity but sophisticated riff on the classic Daiquiri with fresh pineapple and apricot liqueur. It would appear the Hotel Nacional was originally made with a charcoal filtered white rum but in his influential 1939 travel log, Charles H. Baker says, "We indicate Gold Label Bacardi for the simple reason that Carta Blanca is so delicate in flavour it barely comes through any rich drink. " This cocktail does indeed suit a more characterful rum, to the extent that it's also delicious when made with a well-aged rum.
History:
The flagship cocktail of Havana's famous Hotel Nacional de Cuba, this was created sometime during or after the hotels opening in 1930. The hotel's then elegant opulence was a magnet to the style-set and celebrities including Ava Gardner and Nat King Cole, as well as mobsters such as "Lucky" Luciano.
Such a hotel opening off the US coast during the height of Prohibition attracted some of America's greatest bartenders, including Will (or Wil) Taylor, Eddie Woelke and Fred Kaufman. All three of these have been credited with the creation of the Hotel Nacional Special and perhaps they all contributed. However, the first known reference to the cocktail, in Charles H. Baker's 1939 The Gentleman's Companion credits Wil P. Taylor, describing the drink as "one of the three finest Bacardi drinks known to science."
Nutrition:
One serving of Hotel Nacional Special contains 174 calories.
Alcohol content:
- 1.3 standard drinks
- 17.29% alc./vol. (34.58° proof)
- 18.2 grams of pure alcohol
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