Hotel Nacional

Taste

Tropical from the first sniff, pineapple and a soft stone-fruit sweetness from the apricot liqueur out front. The rum sits underneath with a light grassy funk rather than taking the lead, and the lime keeps the whole thing from tipping into dessert, though this is noticeably sweeter and more fruit-forward than a classic Daiquiri. Syrup rounds off any sharp edges. Bright, sunny, silky texture from the hard shake.

Origin

Named for the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, which opened in Havana in 1930, right at the height of Prohibition-driven American tourism to the island. Exactly who first mixed it is disputed between three American bartenders who worked the hotel's bar in its early years: Wil P. Taylor, Eddie Woelke and Fred Kaufman, all of whom have been credited at various points. Charles H. Baker Jr., writing in his well-travelled 1939 book The Gentleman's Companion, names Taylor specifically as the creator. The drink's first known appearance in print, though, is slightly earlier, in the 1934 book Bar La Florida Cocktails. Whoever gets the credit, it became one of the hotel's signature pours during its Prohibition-era heyday.