Air Mail is a tropical take on the Champagne Cocktail that first saw print in a 1930 recipe pamphlet published in Cuba by the Bacardi company. See Bacardi; champagne cocktails. Since Cuba also began air mail service in 1930, it is tempting to assume that this was the year the drink’s anonymous creator gave it wings. But the pamphlet offers no provenance. The original recipe remains largely unchanged today and has become a popular serve in craft cocktail bars.
Recipe: Shake 15 ml lime juice, 5 ml liquid honey (or 5 ml honey dissolved in 5 ml warm water), and 45 ml gold, Cuban-style rum with ice. Strain into a tall glass, and top with champagne.
Bacardi and Its Many Uses. Santiago de Cuba: Compañía Ron Bacardi, 1930.
Wondrich, David. Esquire Drinks: An Opinionated and Irreverent Guide to Drinking. New York: Hearst, 2002.
By: Jeff Berry