Cuban Beverages

In a country where temperatures can soar, drinking cool and refreshing beverages is essential and the options are plenty. The abundance of fresh tropical fruits available at affordable prices provides a delicious base for many fresh juices and batidos (milkshakes). A shot of the island’s world-renowned rum is often offered in paladares as an optional addition to a glass of fruit juice to spice up one’s meal.

After losing Russian support in the early 1990s, and as a result of the decades-long long US economic embargo restricting trade, including imports of medicines, Cubans have developed an extensive knowledge of the medicinal effects of organic herbs and spices, which are often used to make soothing drinks as natural remedies for a variety of ailments.