Together with Shaker & Spoon, the nation’s leading subscription cocktail kit service, Santa Teresa 1796 has joined forces with one of Miami’s most beloved restaurants to help bartenders whose livelihoods have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Cafe La Trova in Little Havana was one of the buzziest spots in South Florida before the pandemic caused restaurants and bars across the city to shut down. Helmed by Tales of the Cocktail Bartender of the Year Julio Cabrera, its bar program featured riffs on classics like daiquiris, mojitos, and more.   

In partnership with Santa Teresa 1796 and Shaker & Spoon, Cabrera has helped curate a kit that will allow cocktail enthusiasts to recreate his delicious rum- and coffee-spiked spin on the old fashioned in the comfort of their homes. It comes with all the ingredients necessary to stir up the perfect sip, including super-premium Venezuelan rum, decadent chocolate bitters, an espresso-based cafecito syrup, orange oil, coffee beans, and a jigger. All you need to do is combine the rum, bitters, and syrup together, give them a good stir, and top your creation with a spritz of orange oil and grated coffeehouse beans. What’s more, the kit comes with enough ingredients to yield eight old fashioned cocktails, so you can keep sipping all week long and then some. 

The best part about this limited-edition kit is that Shaker & Spoon is donating 100% of the proceeds from the sales to the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program. The program aims to help qualified bartenders, bar servers, and barbacks who have encountered financial hardship because of catastrophic or unforeseen life events — like the coronavirus pandemic. If you want to purchase your own cocktail kit, they’re available on ReserveBar for a limited-time special price of $48 (that’s the same price as a bottle of  Santa Teresa 1796 rum).

According to a recent survey by Bacardi, 30% of Americans claim they plan to purchase ready-to-drink cocktails or canned spirits and mixers to elevate socially-distanced get-togethers this summer. Outdoor drinking is also up, as 43% of Americans claim they plan to spend more time socializing and sipping drinks outside this summer compared to last year. Convenient, portable, and easy to put together, cocktails kits like this one by Santa Teresa 1796 are perfect for private use or small group gatherings. They also make the ultimate gift for the mixology buff or cocktail connoisseur in your life.

By Amanda M., Contributing Writer