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Blacktail menu celebrates Cuba’s revolution
By Owen BellwoodNew York cocktail bar BlackTail has launched its latest menu, which highlights the untold stories of the women behind the Cuban revolution.
The Nacional is made from Cuban rum blend, banana, apricot, French bitter, yuzu, pineapple, lime
The menu, which launched on 3 September, features 40 drinks and includes three essays written by Mariela Castro Espín, the daughter of Raúl and Vilma Castro; Aleida Guevara March, the eldest daughter of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara; and Lincoln Cushing, a printer, artist, librarian, archivist and author.
The menu’s artwork was designed by Belfast-based Drinksology and features colourful illustrations by John Scovell.
“Women were intransigent in the Cuban revolution and, crucially, its aftermath,” said Sean Muldoon, managing partner at BlackTail. “Beyond fighting alongside their male counterparts, they spearheaded the wholesale transformation of Cuban society.
“Many progressive equality issues, from women’s rights to mass literacy to healthcare access, became building blocks of the new society that the revolution purported to usher in, often in the face of intransient patriarchal attitudes. We thought it was a story worth telling, so we told it.”
Drinks on the menu, which have been created by BlackTail bar manager and head bartender Jesse Vida alongside the bar’s team, are separated into five sections – Highball, Punch, Sour, Old Fashioned and Cocktail.
The list includes the Maid of Honor, which combines single malt Scotch whisky, blended Japanese whisky, peated Irish whiskey, banana, lime and ponzu; and Urban Myth, which mixes Tequila, coffee, cardamom and mole bitters.
Vida said: “I am proud of every drink on the menu. I would say our modern take on Cuban classics are always the backbone of our cocktail program but we are launching so many new drinks that really get me excited.”
The menu also includes Heavy Metal, which mixes brandy, vermouth, vanilla and Italian bitters; and Blue-Arsed Fly, made from Haitian rhum, oloroso Sherry, coconut, lime and tandoori spice.
Vida added: “There is pressure on making the menus bigger and better in succession. I want the drinks to be the best they can be, better than the last and the best in the world.”
Click through our gallery to see a selection of cocktails on the new menu.
Lock and Key
Ingredients: Bourbon, blended Scotch whisky, corn, strawberry, black pepper, cream and egg.
Jet Lag
Ingredients: Blanco Tequila, mezcal, German bitters, prickly pear, lime, Tasmanian peppercorn and absinthe.
Drag Queen
Ingredients: Venezuelan rum, maple syrup, cinnamon, apple cider and cream.
El Presidente
Ingredients: Bahamian rum, Panamanian rum, mezcal, orange, pomegranate and Mole Bitters.