My Mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in El Floridita

Ernest Hemingway

To many Americans Ernest Hemingway set the tone for adventure, resfeber and bon vivant. From the wine, café and bistro reviews of The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast, to the cocktails of Cuba in The Old Man and The Sea; Hemingway’s passion for cuisine and gourmandizing are world renown and highly publicized. In many ways he also set the tone as the world’s first travel blogger, culinary critic and Yelp reviewer. So of course when I was preparing for my trip to Cuba researching the establishments frequented by Hemingway was paramount to my pending adventure.

A quick Google search revealed some places for dining that had hosted him for fabulous dinners, but I already had my dining list and wasn’t too interested in the posh restaurants of Havana. So I focused on the debaucheries and intemperance Hemingway had while he was living in Cuba, and soon discovered that there were two places I absolutely must visit – El Floridita and La Bodeguita.

No trip to Havana is complete without indulging in copious amounts of rum. Perhaps it’s the long days. Or possibly the oppressive heat (at times, when the breeze is not coming off of the ocean). Either way, the rums of Cuba, much like their cigars, are impossible to replicate. If you have a Bacardi rum made in Havana I guaranty its going to taste completely different than a Bacardi rum that was produced in Puerto Rico. Both very similar in climate, but just not the same. The humidity in Cuba creates a deeper saturation in the barrels that are aging the delicious rums, and the flavor notes and profiles that come out of a well-aged rum in Cuba are remarkable and unmistakable. But enough on the geography lesson of how spirits differ – you can read about that in my monthly blog on Cócteles – let’s get to adventure drinking…

First stop – El Floridita

Across the street from the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes on the heavily travelled Av de las Misiones street, just off of the Parque Central and at the west end of Obispo (a pedestrian only street) lies El Floridita. From the moment you step foot in this iconic restaurant / bar you know exactly why it was one of Hemingway’s favorites.

The décor and setting is of the utmost grandeur – deep rich red painted wood everywhere, red and white linen covered tables, long flowing silk drapes, and a relaxing atmosphere (as long as the cruise ships were leaving).

When I had arrived, El Floridita was completely packed with tourists, and instead of venturing in with the masses, I walked around the corner by the capital and went over to Fabrique de Partagas and picked up a couple of nice cigars. I waited until you could hear the whistle blow for the latest cruise ship leaving port, and watched the hustle and bustle of everyone running down Obispo to get back to the docks so they wouldn’t miss their departure (sad really – only having a few hours in Havana, I felt really bad for them).

Once inside, the first thing that captures your attention is the Hemingway statue that’s on the far left end of the bar by the windows. This, apparently, was his perching place whenever he was there. The wood by where he sat was worn, and shiny, unlike the rest of the dulling wood on the bar. The homage to Hemingway is roped off, so you can only get as close as 2 meters away. Even still, it’s absolutely fantastic. There, in a life-size statue, leaning against the bar with pictures of him and Castro and others framing the backdrop is just outstanding.

A quick glance at the menu, and I already knew what I was going to have – The Hemingway of course. El Floridita has about 20 different types of daiquiri’s on their menu, but of course – when in Rome…

The only thing that makes the Hemingway a “Hemingway” is by taking their normal regular lime daiquiri and turning it into a DOUBLE.

I took my seat at the other end of the bar from Hemingway’s statue and placed my order.

Having been a bartender for decades at this point I started watching the bartender make the famous cóctele with a keen eye on how it was being prepared, and here’s what I gleaned from watching my order being prepared:

The Hemingway:

• 1x Teaspoon of Caster sugar
• 2x Ounces of Havana Club 3 Year Old Rum
• 1/2x Whole Lime (Squeezed)
• 1x Ounce of Grapefruit Juice
• 1x Ounce of Maraschino Liqueur
• 1/2x Cup of Ice

Take all of these ingredients and pour them into a blender. Run the blender for about 15 to 20 seconds – just enough to make it slushy. Pour out the contents into a large martini glass. And here’s the most important thing to remember – add a few dashes of bitters.

The secret to the Cuban daiquiri is the use of Maraschino liqueur and their use of Angostura bitters at the very end. (Garnish with a thinly sliced lime wheel) (Also note that the Hemingway is published all over with the “official” recipe, but this is what I observed…)

As another stream of cruise ship tourists started pushing their way into the bar as I reached over and started to take the first sip of my drink. The energy level and volume increased exponentially as I watched the bartenders go from a casual gate to almost running behind the bar to meet the intense demand. It was fantastic people watching to say the least. This particular cruise had a heavy Asian demographic, and they moved in and out very quickly. Most stopping to take a selfie with the Hemingway statue in the background, and never even ordering a drink. They were gone almost as quickly as they had swarmed in which left time for me to strike up a little conversation with the bartender.

I asked the bartender about his knowledge of Hemingway and his historical consumption habits, and he told me a funny story about how Hemingway always bragged he’d downed 16 of these amazing doubles in one evening and still had his wits about him to drive home. Hemingway apparently told the story of how he gloriously downed 16 of these cocktails and proceeded to drive his guests around Havana in an almost effortless sightseeing tour and had the most wonderful night of his life. Well, according to his uncle (who was the head bartender in those days) his story is slightly under exaggerated, and not at all what really happened.

According to his uncle, Hemingway put down 22 of the potent potables, then proceeded to get into one argument after another with his guests until he finally blacked out and had to be poured into a government vehicle and taxied home to Finca Vigia.

Holy shit – 22!!! I’m only two thirds through my first one and can feel the effects of intoxication (and I’m a relatively seasoned professional).

After my second “Hemingway” I’d decided it was time to get a bite to eat and meander around Havana. I was pretty tight as you can imagine and needed the sustenance for pure sustainment. So I grabbed a quick bite at one of the cafés nearby in Habana Vieja along with a café con leche and started to look through my notebook for more places to visit. Lonely Planet’s Pocket Havana is always a great read while you’re enjoying lunch because it gives you a bunch of ideas on what’s close by to visit. Turns out I was half a block away from the Edificio de Bacardi, a building I’ve always wanted to see in person.

The Edficio de Bacardi is a stunning achievement in Art Deco architecture. Unfortunately while I was in Cuba the building was closed for renovations. I have always wanted to see the interior with my own eyes, but alas – it was not to be.

I headed back into the barrio Habana Vieja and made my way past the Museo de Resolution with their tanks and airplanes out on full display. Walked right past Sloppy Joe’s – no need to stop as you could tell from the outside it was just another tourist trap and most likely Havana’s version of Applebee’s – and slipped down a nice little alleyway to my next destination – La Bodeguita.

Unlike El Floridita, La Bodeguita is NOT posh, elegant, or opulent in any way. The plastered walls are covered in graffiti (homages to every traveler who’s ever visited) and the graffiti alone is worth the trip. The open courtyard, and pocket rooms throughout the space reflect both the freedom being sought after, and the clandestine air of a bunker meeting. It’s really an interesting place.

It’s rumored the food here is quite good, but just having had lunch I was more in the mood for drinks. So, this is the place for Mojitos according to Hemingway, and once again he did not disappoint.

The bar was pretty packed, but they were moving mojitos through that bar at a blazing pace. Watching the bartenders crank out dozens of mojitos at a time reminded me of my days working at Club Havana in Milwaukee. The bartenders would pump out hundreds of mojitos in an evening, and the speed at which they did it was on par with everything I witnessed here at La Bodeguita.

This classic cocktail is especially refreshing on a hot day, and I was ready to dive in. Again, I carefully watched their preparation in hopes of revealing their secret tip. I’d made a few hundred mojitos myself, so I was familiar with how we did things in the states, but now I’m here in the birthplace of the mojito and thee has to be something we’re missing.

First thing I noticed is that they do not spare on the mint. In the states we use the mint sparingly, but not here. Here they start by putting in an ounce of fresh squeezed lime juice (in the states we cut up limes and drop them in the glass to be muddled). Then they pack the glass with mint to the very top. They sprinkle in sugar over the top of the mint, and then add the rum. Water is then added to fill it up to the top and the whole thing gets a quick 5 second shake and poured right back in. Absolutely delicious. Here’s the recipe:

• 1.5x Ounces of fresh squeezed Lime Juice
• 1x Handful of Fresh Mint
• 2x Teaspoons of Caster Sugar
• Add crushed ice
• 1.5x Ounces of Havana Club 3 Year Old Rum
• Top off with Water

Take all contents, pour it into a shaker, shake quickly for about 5 to 10 seconds, return it to the glass and garnish with a lime wheel.

As I mentioned, these are perfect on a hot day, and sitting at the bar you could just soak up the vibe of the patrons. Oddly – there were very few tourists there, it was mostly locals actually enjoying mojitos and dinner. While it was relatively noisy throughout, conversations were muffled and it was almost as if everyone was whispering really loudly. Often, the muffled noise was broken up in the distance by someone belting out a really loud laugh, and then the overall noise level would raise for just a moment and quickly return to a boisterous murmur.

I spoke briefly with the bartender, but in no way was it like El Floridita. There were no stories of Hemingway getting booze-bagged and doing anything outrageous. In fact, the bartender I spoke with seemed rather reluctant to discuss anything about Hemingway really. Perhaps it’s because this little place has hosted many many famous people, and all of them enjoyed the comfort and secrecy of their hospitality back in the day. The more I dug into it, the more I found that this was a destination where famous people could go out in public and still maintain their privacy. That feeling has obviously changed quite a bit over the years, but the sentiment still exists.

So after I imbibed in a few mojitos I was off for my siesta. A quick stop at Chango Habana for a boilermaker, and it was lights out for a few hours back at my apartment.

All in all – both of these places are very touristy and overpriced, but going to Havana and NOT going to these places would seem like a tragedy to me. They’re both so incredibly steeped in history and grandeur so to miss out on the experience would be to miss out on something very special.

Until next time…

~CK