I can never keep up with national food holidays, but National Cocktail Day? That I can do. And with warmer days on the horizon, I’m looking forward to getting back to chilled cocktails in highball glasses full of ice. So for National Cocktail Day we decided to celebrate with a bonus cocktail recipe for the week – a classic highball cocktail recipe that is super easy to recreate on a hot day: the Cuba Libre!

As you’ll see in the recipe below, the Cuba Libre is basically a rum and coke with limes and plenty of ice. A classic combination. But you can also dress up that combination by adding your favorite bitters, fresh mint leaves, some extra lime juice, or even a favorite simple syrup. So when Keurig reached out about trying their brand new KOLD drinkmaker, we immediately thought of the Cuba Libre as the perfect fit!

The Cuba Libre

8 oz Keurig KOLD Red Barn Craft Soda

2 oz rum

Half a lime

1/4 oz ginger-lime simple syrup (optional)

Muddle the lime in a highball glass, then add ice, rum, Keurig KOLD Red Barn Craft Soda, and simple syrup. Give it a stir and enjoy!

Like the original Keurig (hot), the Keurig KOLD delivers on-demand beverages right at home – this time at the perfectly chilled temperature of 39 degrees. And each KOLD pod contains its own carbonation, so you don’t have to worry about CO2 canisters. For our Cuba Libre, we used the Cane Cola from Red Barn Craft Soda. The pure sugar cane in the cola is the perfect match for a Cuba Libre. I’d also love to try this combination of ingredients with the Persian Lime Seltzer instead of Cane Cola – I think it would be so refreshing!

Keurig kindly sent me one of their new KOLD machines for review. All content and opinions are my own.