Why Rum and Coke Is One of the Best Cocktail Classics
Of course it’s great when a highly skilled cocktail shaker places a three-layer molecular cocktail in front of you that’s on fire or billowing dragon steam. But because balance is always the ultimate goal, every now and then you should also simply enjoy the super basics. Like rum and Coke!
Because there’s often a good explanation behind why the basics have become classics. And perhaps rum and Coke has been pushed a little into the background of your drinks consciousness, but we think it’s time to toast with it more often again…
Sweet-and-sour warfare
Bartender and manager of a fancy cocktail bar Jason O’Bryan makes a case for this gem on lifestyle site Robb Report, and he can explain very well why the drink simply ‘works’. According to him, it’s the same reason ‘sour’ cocktails work so well: something incredibly sour (lemon juice, for example) crashes head-on into something super sweet (sugar syrup, for example), and that clash is so brutal that high-proof alcohol (which is always harder to drink neat) can simply slip past quietly, sniggering to itself. If that isn’t one heck of an explanation, I don’t know what is. And it made me really crave a cocktail! It also explains why whiskey sours are considered delicious, as are margaritas.
Acid bomb wrapped in sugar
And now you may be thinking, ‘what does that have to do with Coke?’, but Jason has an answer for that too: you may not notice because it contains so much sugar (and some salt), but Coca-Cola is extremely acidic. It has a pH value of 2.37 and, for comparison, lemon juice has a pH value of 2.25. That makes it very good for mixing, because it’s incredibly sour and incredibly sweet at the same time. With a completely unique flavor and bubbles, hooray!
In free Cuba
It isn’t known exactly who the clever person was who first poured rum and Coke together in a glass, but it seems quite clear that it happened in Cuba. The drink’s other name, ‘Cuba Libre’, comes from toasting with this phrase on the island after the Spanish-American War (when America helped Cuba free itself from its Spanish colonizer in 1898).
Don’t overcomplicate it
And the recipe? That’s the beauty of it, according to O’Bryan; there basically isn’t one. The drink isn’t delicate enough for that, and it also doesn’t matter all that much what rum you pour into it, as long as it isn’t cheap swill. The recipe is simply what the name says, with ice and a lime wedge. He does recommend dark rum, because it often has an extra spiced flavor that can hold its own against the Coke. We immediately think of Don Papa rum! Quantities? Again, just use whatever you like. Maybe you drink yours like my late, big-as-a-bear stepfather-in-law, who always said: ‘the Coke is for the color’…
Also read:
- 5 quarantine-proof cocktails
- For luxury cats and hobby shakers: make a five-star hotel bar cocktail with this package
- Delivery review: Flying Dutchmen cocktail bar and Spaghetteria Pasta Bar
Source: Robb Report
