
Why we love the Hotel Nacional cocktail
Since we just made a Charlie Chaplin cocktail with our apricot brandy, I felt like it was only natural to keep the theme going, so we tried the Hotel Nacional cocktail.
It’s refreshing and sweet, just like a day at the beach in Cuba (at least I assume, since we probably won’t be going anytime soon). Joke’s aside, it actually reminded me of a light piña colada, and I think you should definitely try it.

Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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Equipment



Ingredients & substitutions
- White rum – You can substitute dark rum or even split the difference and use half white and half dark. I wouldn’t recommend spiced, but if that’s your thing, go for it.
- Simple syrup – If you don’t have simple syrup, agave nectar would work, or you could simply skip it, if you prefer a drier cocktail.
- Apricot brandy – If you do not have this ingredient, try using amaretto which is made from part apricot kernels, so it should have a mimic the flavor relatively well, or you could try maraschino liqueur (we used that in the last word cocktail).
- Pineapple juice
- Lime juice – if you’re out of lime juice, feel free to use extra pineapple juice or substitute lemon juice.

How to make the hotel nacional de cuba signature cocktail
Shake the cocktail. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and the cocktail ingredients. Cover and shake until your drink is nice and cold.
Garnish and serve. Strain the cocktail into a glass. We served this cocktail over a large ice cube, but this cocktail is traditionally served straight up. Garnish with a pineapple slice and some fresh pineapple leaves.

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Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces white rum
- ½ ounce apricot brandy
- 1 ½ ounce pineapple juice
- ½ ounce lime juice
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- For garnish: pineapple slice (pineapple leaf)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake until cold and strain into a cocktail glass.
- garnish with a pineapple slice and leaf before serving..
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