The Old Cuban is a modern classic in the cocktail world, created by the legendary Audrey Saunders of New York’s Pegu Club. It's inspired by another classic—the mojito—with a few key tweaks like dark rum instead of white, the addition of aromatic bitters, and sparkling wine in place of club soda. It's also surprisingly easy to make non-alcoholic with the right ingredients.
Not exactly your typical virgin mojito recipe, this non-alcoholic Old Cuban is bright, minty, and refreshing like a mojito, but with the intensity and spice of dark rum and bitters. With multiple layers and waves of flavor, it translates better to a zero-proof format than just about anything else we've tasted.
To make a non-alcoholic Old Cuban, you'll need a dark rum alternative—we especially like Ritual Zero Proof—plus our Aromatic bitters and an alcohol-removed sparkling wine. A far cry from your juice and sugar-laden mocktails, this is a non-alcoholic cocktail everyone will enjoy.
In the bottom of a shaker tin, gently muddle mint leaves along with the simple syrup and lime juice.
Add rum, bitters, and ice and shake until well chilled.
Strain into a coupe glass and top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with a fresh mint sprig.
Recipe Note
MAKE IT LOW ALCOHOL Enjoy a low-ABV Old Cuban by using non-alcoholic rum and 2-3 ounces of regular, alcoholic sparkling wine.
WHERE TO BUY NON-ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS You can find all of the ingredients for this non-alcoholic cocktail at The Zero Proof, or you can order direct from the producers. Any non-alcoholic dark rum and sparkling wine will work in this Old Cuban recipe, but we particularly like Ritual Zero Proof Rum and Noughty Sparkling Chardonnay. And, of course, our Aromatic bitters.
OTHER RUM MOCKTAIL RECIPES For a great spirit-forward dark rum cocktail, try this non-alcoholic Corn 'n' Oil or a juicy Painkiller. And while these recipes call for Seedlip (not rum), our Garden Mojito mocktail recipe and Caipirinha are perfect for summer.
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