Havana (EFE).- The first "Cuba Libre" cocktail of about 500 liters, the largest in the world, was prepared on Sunday in Havana by bartenders participating in the XXII Pan American Cocktail Meeting IBA 2018, with the aim of setting a record with the famous drink made mainly of rum and cola.
Hundreds of tourists and curious onlookers gathered in the lobby of the Tryp Habana Libre hotel in the Cuban capital to follow step by step the preparation of the drink made in a giant version that they eventually tasted.
The vice president of the Association of Bartenders of Cuba (ACC), bartender Sergio Serrano, told Efe that "it is a pleasure and an honor" to make this "Cuba Libre," one of the most consumed cocktails in the world alongside the mojito, daiquiri, and "Adam and Eve," which earned him the championship title at the world classic cocktail competition held in 2003 in the Spanish city of Seville.
"It's a Cuba Libre party among all the bartenders of Cuba and the world to update ourselves on the new trends and be more professional," Serrano noted.
For just over an hour, Cuban and foreign bartenders, along with hotel staff, filled the enormous glass where the cocktail was prepared with 108 bottles of Havana Club 3 Años rum plus 200 liters of the Cuban soft drink "TuKola," and to complete the mix, ice was added with a touch of lemon juice.
"A tasty and Cuban drink"
"Of course it is a tasty drink, Cuban, we are enjoying it at this event which is a remarkable initiative because more than the challenge, it is about bringing so many people together in a friendly gathering," said one of the attendees, the Cuban María Lucía González after trying the unprecedented Cuba Libre.
The event brings together bartenders from 18 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay, and in addition to Cuba, Belize and Panama are included as guests.
They will demonstrate their skills in the competitions in the Classic Pan American Cup categories, sponsored by the company Havana Club Internacional, in Flair or Free, Bartender Challenge, and Classic Friendship Cup.
The event program, which will take place until August 31 in Havana, declared the Ibero-American capital of cocktail-making last May, also includes tastings, masterclasses, a meeting of rum masters, and another of beverage producing and marketing companies.
The head of the ACC, José Rafa Melém, emphasized at the opening the importance of holding this meeting in Cuba, the first country to create a club of bartenders that is a member of the International Bartenders Association (IBA) - which presides over these meetings - and aims to host the World Cocktail Championship in 2022.
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