Cuban Canchanchara with Aged Rum, Wildflower Honey and Fresh Lime

Stir the honey with the warm water in a small jar until it loosens into a pourable syrup, since cold honey seizes into a lump at the bottom of the glass.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4 oz aged Cuban-style rum
• 2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 oz wildflower honey
• 1 oz warm water
• Crushed ice, to fill
• 2 lime wheels, for garnish
• 2 short sprigs fresh mint, for garnish

Instructions

1. Stir the honey with the warm water in a small jar until it loosens into a pourable syrup, since cold honey seizes into a lump at the bottom of the glass.
2. Let the honey syrup cool to room temperature, which takes about five minutes and keeps the drink from turning cloudy.
3. Squeeze the limes fresh, straining out the seeds but leaving a little pulp for texture.
4. Combine the rum, lime juice and honey syrup in a shaker with a few cubes of ice and shake briefly, about eight seconds, only to chill and combine.
5. Fill two small earthenware cups or rocks glasses with crushed ice packed to the rim.
6. Strain the mixture over the ice, then stir once with a bar spoon to frost the outside of the glass.
7. Top with a little more crushed ice to form a dome, and lay a lime wheel and a mint sprig across the top.
8. Serve at once with a short straw, and stir as you go so the honey that settles gets pulled back through.
9. The canchanchara predates the daiquiri by a century, mixed by Cuban independence fighters in the hills around Trinidad de Cuba who had rough cane spirit, wild honey and limes and nothing else. Traditionally it is served in a small clay cup, which holds cold remarkably well and is still how you get it in the town's oldest bar. Modern aged rum makes it far smoother than the original ever was, but the honey and lime balance is unchanged.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 255 kcal
• Protein: 0g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 26g
• Fiber: 0g
• Sugar: 24g
• Sodium: 5mg