The Nineteen Twenties noticed Cuba’s cocktail tradition flourish. Spurred on by an inflow of American guests and bartenders fleeing the strictures of Prohibition, the nation and its world-famous bars turned a consuming vacation spot. In 1924, the Membership de Cantineros, a society of Cuban bartenders, was based to offer coaching, advocate for honest wages and dealing circumstances and gather the perfect drinks from the native cocktail scene. The recipes had been become a 1930 ebook entitled Membership de Cantineros de la República de Cuba: Guide Oficial.

A century later, when Lorenzo Antinori and Simone Caporale had been creating the idea for his or her newest bar in Hong Kong, they leaned closely on this historical past for inspiration. “Cuban cocktail historical past is so wealthy and has all the time had an affect on Simone’s and [my] upbringing as bartenders,” says Antinori. “We needed to pay tribute to that.”

And pay tribute they’ve. Montana, the brand new bar, is called after a cocktail within the Membership de Cantineros ebook, and the home Daiquiri mashes up two interval recipes. The primary, the Santa Marta Daiquiri, is a drink Antinori remembers encountering a few years in the past, first by an article by German bartender Joerg Meyer extolling its virtues, then on the American Bar on the Savoy, the place it was featured on a particular menu. The little-known Cuban traditional was initially a easy Daiquiri variation made with a number of drops of kirschwasser.

The second drink, the Boadas Daiquiri, was developed by former El Floridita bartender Miguel Boadas within the Nineteen Thirties. He created it for his Barcelona bar, which had crossover clientele with the Havana establishment, together with Ernest Hemingway. Boadas’ cocktail is a nod to El Floridita’s Daiquiri No. 4, which is made with maraschino and lime (although the interpretation within the Bar La Florida ebook errantly cites lemon, and plenty of variations, together with Boadas’, use lemon because of this). 

At Montana, Antinori and Caporale take the maraschino from the Boadas Daiquiri and the eau de vie float from the Santa Marta variation, however they’ve chosen to make use of a framboise (raspberry eau de vie) as an alternative of kirsch. “The framboise, just like the kirsch, provides a floral dryness to the cocktail, which makes it very elegant,” says Antinori. “It additionally balances the sweetness of the maraschino.” Montana makes use of a liqueur from G.E. Massenez, for its texture and taste, and Luxardo, for the maraschino, which Antinori describes as floral, grassy and complicated.

No element was spared within the presentation of Montana’s signature drink. The Boadas Daiquiri was initially served frappé, with items of shaved ice floating on high, and to imitate that, Antinori and Caporale pressure their model to permit little bits of ice to relaxation on the floor. Additionally they add a garnish: a Fabbri maraschino cherry to reference each the liqueur within the drink and the unique Santa Marta’s kirsch. As a ultimate contact, Antinori and Caporale have distinguished the Daiquiri’s particular place within the bar’s program with silver tray service. For bigger teams ordering the drink, they shake and pressure it tableside. “We love a little bit of showmanship,” says Antinori.