Sour · Anytime · Summer

Canchanchara

Cuban cane spirit with lime and raw honey, loosened with a splash of water. Rough-edged on purpose, and older than almost anything else on the list.

Base: Aguardiente
Glass: Old fashioned glass
Method: Build
Strength: 18% ABV

Ingredients

60 mlCuban Aguardiente
15 mlFresh Lime Juice1 swap
Fresh lemon juicemedium
Slightly less floral, more tart
15 mlRaw Honey1 swap
Honey syrup or agavemedium
Little change
50 mlWater

How to make

Technique

Build · 10–15s

Building straight in the glass keeps it simple and preserves any fizz.

Mix honey with water and lime juice and spread the mixture on the bottom and sides of the glass.
Add cracked ice, and then the rum.
End by energetically stirring from bottom to top.

Serve

Glass

Old fashioned glassAlso fine: Double old fashioned glass, Rocks glass, Tumbler

Garnish

Garnish with a lime wedge.Give it a squeeze on the way in, or leave it sitting on the rim.

Taste & nutrition

18%ABV

150kcal

2.23Drinks

StrengthMedium

Sweet to dryBalanced

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

Use freshly squeezed juice — bottled tastes flat.

History

Year19th century

PlaceTrinidad, Cuba

Created byCuban independence fighters (mambises)

A rustic Cuban mix of cane spirit, honey and lime, the Canchánchara is often called a forerunner of the Daiquiri. It is tied to the Cuban independence fighters of the late 19th century, who are said to have drunk it during the wars against Spain. The original used aguardiente de caña rather than aged rum. It is still served in the town of Trinidad, where a bar bears its name.

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