Son Cubano Daiquiri and "Chan Chan"

Casa De Amore
When you're in love with someone, all you want is for them to love you back. We do outlandish, foolish things when in love. And it hurts when the other person simply doesn't feel the same way as you. We start to question ourselves. What did I do wrong? Why doesn't this person like me the way I like them? It can become extremely vexing, driving us to the point of losing sleep. But maybe, just maybe, love picks us. Love decides who winds up together. Love decides who we marry & have children with. Who we build a house with. Who we play in the sand with. Love can be wrong. But what if it's right?

Havana Skyline
Photograph by Kahlilah Nelson

You finish the lovely meal of fresh sea bass you caught that day, some greens from your tiny backyard garden and a lovely bottle of Cuban Tempranillo. You clear away the dishes and as you're standing at the kitchen sink, the misty sea breeze drifts through the open window to remind you that you're home. You've earned this moment. You both work hard to make this place your home. Your shoulders are sunburned from fishing, her knees are sore from gardening. But now you can relax. You turn around only to find... she's gone. She's headed to the beach. You know this because her favorite thing to do after dinner is to watch the stars fall out of the Caribbean sky. So you decide to join her. But first, cocktails. Normally, you just whip up a cold pitcher of Kalimotxo, but tonight is special. What is something delicious I can bring down to the beach? You open the creaky cabinet above the fridge. (You've had to WD-40 the cabinet hinges once a month because of the humidity) In it, you find a dusty bottle of Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron...

Son Cubano Daiquiri

To conduct the mass amounts of sound, rhythms and tone in life, or in a symphony, one must be a master, a maestro. To bring about such beautiful refrain with just a flick of a baton, or to create a delicate and refined spirit to be sipped by everyone from the common consumer to those with the most refined of palates, requires a long scrupulous process of tweaking, dissecting and reflecting. It takes years of practice to achieve mastery, ten thousand hours to be a bit more precise. To pay homage to the rich history of Cuba, it's eclectic cultural mix of music, people and spirit, we thought it necessary to use a product that pays tribute to the Master Blenders of rum making in the Caribbean and fuse it with liquors and aperitifs from around the world. Just as the culture today in Cuba has been influenced by travelers from far and wide, this cocktail, the Son Cubano Daiquiri, (which is a style of music that originated in Cuba) epitomizes the monumental changes and arduous evolution in this small yet resilient Caribbean island. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron

1/2 oz Vya sweet vermouth

1/2 oz Alvear amontillado

3 bar spoons raw sugar

3 large lime wedges 

1 dash orinoco bitters 

Method:

Place sugar and limes into a shaker tin. Muddle until sugar has dissolved. Add all other ingredients. Add ice. Shake to the rhythm of the clave and double strain into a coupe. 

Chan Chan

"This song wasn't just composed, it was dreamt", states composer Compay Segundo. Sometimes he woke up with a melody in his head. He heard instruments, all very clear. He'd look over the balcony and see nobody, but still hear it as if it was being played right there on the street. The foundation of the song revolves around 4 sensitive notes that grab you in an instant when heard, like a powerful sermon spoken in a voice of a distinguished Cardinal. The lyric is inspired by a children's tale of Juanica and Chan Chan who are building a house and go to the beach to get some sand. Chan Chan collects the sand and puts it on the jibe (a sieve for sand). Juanica shakes it, and to do so she shakes herself, making Chan Chan aroused. The song also speaks of travels through towns near each other in the Holguín Province on the east side of Cuba. A common occurrence in Son to mention Cuban toponyms. From Alto Cedro to Marcané and Cueto to Mayarí the repeated chorus sounds on like an ancient march making you feel like you've seen all the history of the world in four minutes and seventeen seconds. Drinking a "Son Cubano" with the Californian sweet vermouth, Spanish amontillado, Puerto Rican Rum, Orinoco bitters that flow from the Venezuelan river, Cuban sugar and lime, is sure to teleport you through time as you enter into the Chan Chan. 

This wonderful bottle was given to
Tunes and Tonic
by Alyssa Dupre of Bacardi
Thank you!

Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron

This is a super-premium mixing rum launched in the spring of 2015. Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron is a tribute to the Master Blenders that have protected the secrets of the family's rum-making process for more than one hundred and fifty years. Inspired by the pursuit of creating the ultimate white mixing rum, Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron is expertly crafted using a double-aging process, where rums that are aged for at least one year are blended together and returned to white oak barrels for an additional three months. The result is an expertly blended white rum ideal for elevating simple cocktails. Bacardi has an interesting history.  Their symbol, the bat, was decided by Doña Amalia Bacardi to be used when she spotted fruit bats in the family's distillery. The bat had always been a symbol of good fortune. In 1919, the U.S. banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The Bacardi's had some ideas of their own; they invited Americans to Cuba for legendary weekend long parties. Their business was still booming despite prohibition for years until 1960 when the revolutionary regime in Cuba illegally confiscated all the Bacardi Company's Cuban assets. They were given no compensation and were forced out of the country. The Bacardi's lost their business and their home, but as history has proven, not their spirit. They simply just started over in a new location.  

Vya

The recipe behind Vya Vermouth is a secret. Only natural ingredients are used: whole herbs, wine and grape spirit. The exact 15 to 20 varieties of herbs, proportions and infusions are all stored away in winemaker Michael Blaylock's notes. This secret recipe is tweaked from year to year as, for example, the character of the cinnamon from Mexico brings in a needed dimension. The harvest quality of the grapes also fluctuates each year, but in spite of changing conditions, the quality and flavor of the Vya remain consistent. Through his own nose, as well as meticulous math equations and careful oversight, Blaylock manages the production of Vya and assures consumers that when they buy a bottle of Vya, their expectations will be met. A little anecdote about this product; as Andrew Quady, the founder of Quady winery and maker of the first Vya Vermouth, in the year 2000, gave a taste of his creation to one of the worlds leading wine critics, the man sipped, then with amazement and utter curiosity asked, "What is this?" Quady then exclaimed, "It's Vermouth, You Ass!" Then named it accordingly. 

Amontillado
From the Alvear winery in Jerez, Spain, this non-vintage Amontillado Carlos VII is far superior to the regular bottling. From a 25-year old Solera system, it's medium to dark amber color is accompanied by a medium to full-bodied sherry revealing loads of pungent, earthy, nutty notes, a slightly oxidized character, and a long, persistent finish.

Son Cubano (music)

Son Cubano is a style of music and dance that originated in Cuba and gained worldwide popularity in the 1930's. Son combines the structure and elements of Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu origin. The Cuban Son is one of the most influential and widespread forms of Latin American music. The word "son" translated from Spanish to English means "rhythm".

Buena Vista Social Club
As Cuban revolutions go, it was an entirely peaceable uprising- but it's impact could not have been more profound. On the release of the Buena Vista Social Club album in 1997, few outside the specialist world music audience initially took much notice of the record's elegantly sculpted tunes and warm, acoustic rhythms. Then something extraordinary occurred. The album was spectacularly reviewed by a few discerning critics, but although their words of praise did Buena Vista's cause no harm, they cannot explain what subsequently happened. Good reviews create an early surge in sales, but unless it's a big pop release sustained by an expensive tv ad campaign, the established pattern is that interest then slowly tails off. Instead, Buena Vista's sales figures kept rising week by week, building almost entirely by word-of-mouth until it achieved critical mass: all who heard the record not only fell in love with Buena Vista's irresistible magic, but were then inspired to play or recommend the album to everyone they knew. Once you heard it, you had to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by the music's romantic impulses and uninhibited exuberance.

Compay Segundo

Compay Segundo (November 18, 1907- July 13, 2003) was a Cuban trova guitarist, singer and composer. He was also the inventor of thearmónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument, created to eliminate a harmonic jump in the Spanish guitar and the tres. In the 1950's, he became well known as the second voice and tres player in Los Compadres, a duo he formed with Lorenzo Hierrezuelo in 1947. Los Compadres were one of the most successful Cuban duos of their time. Greater international fame came later, in 1997, with the release of The Buena Vista Social Club album, a hugely successful recording which won several grammy awards. Segundo's most famous composition is "Chan Chan", the opening track on the album, whose four opening chords are instantly recognizable all over the world. "Chan Chan" was recorded by Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists. At a fiesta, he sang to President Fidel Castro, who took his pulse and joked about his vitality despite his 90-plus years. "Who could have imagined that?" he asked, when he found himself at the Vatican City, performing "Chan Chan" before Pope John Paul II. He explained his longevity simply: mutton consommé and a drink of rum. He predicted he would live to be 115, but died of kidney failure in Havana, 20 years short of his ambition.

We greatly enjoyed experimenting with this weeks featured spirit. It was a delight to pair it with such a significant song in the history of music that proves it's still possible in this day and age to create truly quality music and achieve great acclaim without millions of dollars and a giant record label backing the project.

Drink up this wondrous concoction with all the mastery and valiance it represents, burning brightly in your mind.

Salud!

Henry & Jehiah