hotel nacional special

1 jigger Carta de Oro Bacardi (1 1/2 oz Seleta Gold Cachaça)
1 jigger Pineapple Juice (1 1/2 oz)
Juice 1 Lime (1/2 oz)
1 tsp Apricot Brandy (1/2 oz Rothman & Winter)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Sundays prior, I decided to finally write about a drink that I had previously assumed that I had. Namely, Wil P. Taylor's Hotel Nacional Special from Charles H. Baker, Jr.'s Jigger, Beaker, and Flask that Baker recorded in Havana circa 1933. I made two adjustments to the recipe; the first was to switch the Cuban-style rum to cachaça to add some spiritous intrigue. And the second was to ignore Baker's call for a dry apricot brandy; despite having apricot eau de vie in house, I felt that the drink needed a bit of sweetness to balance the lime. Overall, the combination was reminiscent of a mint- and absinthe-free Missionary Impossible.
The Hotel Nacional Special offered up a pineapple and grassy bouquet with hints of sweet fruit. Lime and some of the pineapple flavors filled the sip, and the swallow showcased the grassy cachaça and the apricot with a funky pineapple finish.