Hotel Nacional
White rum, pineapple, lime and apricot liqueur, shaken. The Havana hotel's 1930s house drink — a pineapple Daiquiri with apricot, from Charles Baker's Gentleman's Companion.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, apricot liqueur and syrup if using to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with a lime wheel.
A thoughtful finish
- A dry apricot liqueur — the French or Austrian ones — rather than a sweet 'apricot brandy'; it is the drink's distinction from a plain pineapple Daiquiri.
- Fresh pineapple juice foams and tastes brighter.
- Taste before adding syrup; ripe pineapple and the liqueur may be sweet enough.
Common mistakes
- Sweet apricot brandy, which tips it to syrup.
- Too much pineapple; it is a Daiquiri with pineapple, not a juice drink.
- Skipping the lime.
A few good questions.
What does a Hotel Nacional taste like?
A pineapple Daiquiri with apricot — tart, tropical, a little stone-fruit sweetness. Drier than it sounds.
How is it different from a Mary Pickford?
Lime and apricot in place of grenadine and maraschino. It is the drier, less pink cousin.
Who was Charles Baker?
An American travel writer whose 1939 Gentleman's Companion collected drinks from bars around the world, including this one.
Can I use aged rum?
Yes, for more depth. White rum is the 1930s original.
Variations
- Mary Pickford — Rum, pineapple, grenadine and maraschino.
- Pineapple Daiquiri — Rum, lime and pineapple.
- Daiquiri — Rum, lime and sugar.
- Charlie Chaplin — Sloe gin, apricot liqueur and lime.
Where it comes from
c. 1930s · Havana, Cuba · Wil P. Taylor (attributed) · Hotel Nacional de Cuba
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The Hotel Nacional de Cuba opened on the Malecón in 1930 and its bar was the grandest in Havana; the Hotel Nacional Special — rum, pineapple, lime and apricot brandy — is credited to its bar manager Wil P. Taylor and was printed by Charles H. Baker Jr. in The Gentleman’s Companion in 1939, after Baker drank it there. It is a Daiquiri with pineapple and apricot, drier than the Mary Pickford and more interesting, and it was revived in the 2000s when apricot liqueur came back to the bar. The hotel still stands, nationalised, and still serves it.
Sources
- Charles H. Baker Jr., The Gentleman's Companion, 1939 (book)
- Wayne Curtis, And a Bottle of Rum, 2006 (book)
- Jeff Berry, Potions of the Caribbean, 2014 (book)
Strength. About 1.2 US standard drinks at an estimated 15.4% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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