Hotel Nacional Special

The Hotel Nacional Special is a classic Cuban rum cocktail from the Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana, dating to the 1930s. It shakes rum with apricot brandy, fresh pineapple juice and lime, and is strained up into a chilled coupe. Pale gold and tropical, it is a smooth, fruit-forward daiquiri cousin — dry and bright but rounded by the honeyed apricot liqueur.

Crisp & tart18% ABV

Pale gold and faintly hazy, the Hotel Nacional Special smells of juicy fresh pineapple and honeyed apricot over bright, zesty lime and the warm molasses depth of Cuban rum. On the palate it drinks like a tropical daiquiri — dry and refreshing, with a clean citrus tartness from the lime and a juicy pineapple tang, rounded and sweetened by the stone-fruit richness of apricot brandy so the sour never turns sharp. It finishes crisp and gently fruity, moderately strong at around 18 percent alcohol in the glass, with a lingering note of ripe apricot and rum.