Cuba Libre (Spanish for Free Cuba) is a caffeinated alcoholic cocktail made of cola, lime, and dark or light rum.

This cocktail is often referred to as a Rum and Coke. Accounts of the invention of the Cuba Libre vary.

One account claims that the drink was invented in Havana, Cuba around 1901/1902.

Patriots aiding Cuba during the Spanish – American War regularly mixed rum and cola as a toast to this Caribbean island.

According to Bacardi:

The World‘s second most popular drink was born in a collision between the United States and Spain.

It happened during the Spanish – American War at the turn of the century when Teddy Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and Americans in large numbers arrived in Cuba.

One afternoon, a group of off-duty soldiers from the U.S. Signal Corps were gathered in a bar in Old Havana.

Fausto Rodriguez, a young messenger, later recalled that Captain Russell came in and ordered Bacardi (Gold) rum and Coca-Cola on ice with a wedge of lime.

The captain drank the concoction with such pleasure that it sparked the interest of the soldiers around him.

They had the bartender prepare a round of the captain’s drink for them. The Bacardi rum and Coke was an instant hit.

As it does to this day, the drink united the crowd in a spirit of fun and good fellowship.

When they ordered another round, one soldier suggested that they toast ‘Por Cuba Libre!’ in celebration of the newly freed Cuba.

The captain raised his glass and sang out the battle cry that had inspired Cuba’s victorious soldiers in the War of Independence.

According to Havana Club:

Along with the Mojito and the Daiquiri, the Cuba Libre shares the mystery of its exact origin. The only certainty is that this cocktail was first sipped in Cuba. The year? 1900.

1900 is generally said to be the year that cola first came to Cuba, introduced to the island by American troops.

But ‘Cuba Libre!’ was the battle cry of the Cuba Liberation Army during the war of independence that ended in 1898.

The drink gained further popularity in the United States after The Andrews Sisters recorded a song (in 1945) named after the drink’s ingredients, ‘Rum and Coca-Cola’.

The song became a huge hit in 1945 for the Andrews Sisters, spending ten weeks at the top of Billboard’s U.S. Pop Singles chart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMdPjklEosY

If you ever go down Trinidad
They make you feel so very glad
Calypso sing and make up rhyme
Guarantee you one real good fine time

Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar

Oh, beat it man, beat it

Since the Yankee come to Trinidad
They got the young girls all goin’ mad
Young girls say they treat ’em nice
Make Trinidad like paradise

Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar

Oh, you vex me, you vex me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2vbm5C9Gko

From Chicachicaree to Mona’s Isle
Native girls all dance and smile
Help soldier celebrate his leave
Make every day like New Year’s Eve

Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar

It’s a fact, man, it’s a fact

In old Trinidad, I also fear
The situation is mighty queer
Like the Yankee girl, the native swoon
When she hear der Bingo croon

Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar

Out on Manzanella Beach
G.I. romance with native peach
All night long, make tropic love
Next day, sit in hot sun and cool off

Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar

It’s a fact, man, it’s a fact

Rum and Coca-Cola
Rum and Coca-Cola
Workin’ for the Yankee dollar