Cuba’s rich cultural diversity comes to the fore in its incredible cuisine, which combines European (mainly Spanish), African and traditional Caribbean recipes and dishes to create a delicious blend of aromas, spices and flavours.  The island’s pork is unparalleled in the region and often meals come with large accompaniments of rice and beans, creating a menu which is sure to satisfy the appetite of even the most voracious traveller.  Combine this with the nation’s love for rum and cocktails and you will be treated to a sensational barrage of complimentary flavours and food and drink combinations.  
 
Cuban Roast Pork
 
Cuba’s roast pork rates as the most succulent and flavoursome in the entire Caribbean.  A staple part of the Cuban diet, roast pork is used in a variety of different dishes, though predominantly it is served with rice, beans and spices to create a simplistic but extremely filling dish which delights the palette.  The Cuban love for pork also stretches into snack territory, with the fried skin acting as an extremely popular snack (not entirely unlike British pork scratchings), a perfect way to whet the appetite between meals.  
 
An Authentic Cuban Restaurant
 
Though Cuban roast pork is a mainstay of nearly all restaurants in the country, El Atelier in Havana is renowned for serving what is quite possibly the most flavoursome pork on the island.  El Atelier’s pork is famed for its rich aromatic nature, spiced in such a way that it is symptomatic of conventional Cuban pork, yet retains a delicious individuality.  The restaurant itself is humble in decor, and serves a mixture of traditional and contemporary cuisines in a daily-shifting menu.  
 
Mojito
 
The Mojito is a traditional Cuban highball which has earned an immense popularity for its refreshing and zesty flavour, perfect for enjoyment in the blazing Caribbean sun.  A flagship of the Cuban cocktails menu, the Mojito traditionally has five ingredients; white rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water and mint.  Elsewhere in the world these ingredients may often be rearranged, but in Cuba the recipe is near sacred, to ensure that visitors get a taste of nothing less than the very best, freshest drink possible.  The drink itself actually has historical roots as a medicine to combat scurvy and dysentery!
 
The Best Mojito in Cuba?
 
La Bodeguita del Medio’s Mojito is so world famous that it was actually named explicitly by famed American writer Ernest Hemingway as the go-to destination for the refreshing drink.  The bar itself is set in the heart of Palo Alto, offering a range of excellent dishes and rum vintages for travellers to enjoy.  These classic rums help to flavour each Mojito made in-house, with the bar using only the freshest ingredients to keep the drink zesty.   
 
Rum
 
The Caribbean has long held itself in high esteem as the most important rum distillation destination in the world, with its sweet-tasting, distinctively flavoured brands being favoured globally over any competitor.  Each country has its own brand identity for rum, and Cuba is no exception – ancestral home of the Bacardi brand and distillery site for Havana Club, Cuba’s rums are often brandished as leading products in the market, often rating as the most popular brands in the world.  Enjoyed as part of a cocktail or straight with a simple accompaniment of ice, Cuban rum is a perfect sunny-day’s accompaniment.  
 
Cuban Rum is Cuban History
 
Cuba may be home to some of the world’s most popular brands of rum, but for holidaymakers looking to taste the absolute best nothing less will do than a taste of Santiago de Cuba Extra Anejo, purportedly Fidel Castro’s own rum of choice.  Tourists seeking out a sample of the finer Cuban rums are advised to visit the original Bacardi Rum Factory in Santiago de Cuba, which offers a fascinating insight into Cuba’s rum industry and provides a small bar with tastings.  

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