Canchanchara Recipe: Cuban Aguardiente, Lime and Honey

Ingredients

2 oz Cuban aguardiente or a young, unaged Cuban-style rume.g. Havana Club · Santero
½ oz lime juice
½ oz honey raw honey
1¾ oz water

Garnish: Lime wedge · Ice: Ice cubes

Method

Dissolve the honey in the lime juice and water in a clay cup or rocks glass.
Add the aguardiente and stir well.
Fill with ice and stir briefly again.
Garnish with a lime wedge.

Watch it made

Canchanchara

Taste

Fresh and honeyed with sharp lime and the grassy, raw character of young cane spirit. Lighter than it sounds thanks to the water.

History and origin

The Canchanchara is strongly tied to the city of Trinidad in central Cuba, where it is still served in small clay cups. Tradition connects it with the Mambises, the Cuban independence fighters of the late 19th century, who are said to have drunk a mixture of aguardiente, honey and lime. How much of this story is documented and how much is local legend is hard to say.

With its sugar cane spirit, lime and sweetener it follows the same pattern as the later Daiquiri, which is why it is often presented as a forerunner. The IBA lists it among its New Era Drinks.

Bartender tips

Mix the honey with the water and lime first; cold spirit and ice make honey set into lumps.
Real Cuban aguardiente is hard to find outside Cuba. A young unaged rum or a rhum agricole blanc gives a similar grassy profile.
For a batch, prepare a honey water in advance (one part honey to three parts water) and mix with lime and spirit to order.

Variations

Shaken: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice for a colder, more integrated drink.
With rum: Use a light Cuban-style rum instead of aguardiente for a softer version.