Post #626752 by Hurricane Hayward on Mon, Feb 27, 2012 9:28 PM

Thanks jokeiii, I should know my Cuban rum history being so close to Havana. If they had taught my old high school "Americanism vs. Communism" course with a few daiquiris, I might have a better recollection.

I meant to say that Cuban rum was likely used in the Floridita, and you're correct that in those days that meant the Bacardi brand. As for the Derby, I like to think that Cuban rum would have been used if not for the drink's ties to the Rums of Puerto Rico contest.

An interesting side story (this was related to Swanky by old Mai-Kai GM Bob Van Dorpe): The Thornton brothers used to very regularly head to Cuba on Fridays for the weekend. This left him with a lot of things to juggle in their absence, much to his annoyance. They had a chaffeur who was connected to the Batista regime, so they avoided any problems on these weekend jaunts.

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[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2012-02-27 21:29 ]