Spice up cocktail hour with a tart and sweet guava grapefruit rum cocktail

a clear hand blown style glass with a blue rim filled with an icy pink cocktail garnish with mint and a pineapple wedge

What is a guava anyway?

Guava is a small tropical fruit that is big in the latin communities of Florida. It is small, with a green skin and brilliant pink inside. You can find guava pastries in almost every Cuban sandwich shop in Florida. Guava nectar, guava paste and jam is usually found in the latin section of your grocery store.

If you do not have guava nectar in your local grocery store, buy it here.

Pair this sweet nectar with tangy grapefruit, sharp lime and lots of ice for a fantastic cocktail this weekend.

a bottle of Bacardi rum, cointreau, a box of guava next next to a glass w filled with ice a cocktail and fruit

Ingredients in this guava grapefruit rum cocktail:

light rum, vodka or tequila
cointreau
guava nectar ( found in the juice aisle or latin section of your grocery store)
lime juice
ruby red grapefruit juice
for garnish- mint, pineapple wedges or grapefruit slices
ice

bowl of guava nectar, lime juice and red grapefruit juice

Equipment needed for this cocktail:

juicer
cocktail shaker and strainer
martini glass or collins glass

a bottle of vodka, cointreau and a mother of pearl martini shaker next to juiced limes and a bowl of lime juice — .

Meggen’s favorite cuban restaurants in Florida :

La Teresita- Tampa– Family run restaurant – try the black bean soup, yuca and Ropa Vieja

Black Bean Deli– Winter Park- Fantastic pressed Cuban sandwiches and chicken and yellow rice. Cafe con Leche is a great way to start the day and I order it here once a week.

The Columbia, Tampa– The oldest restaurant in the state of Florida. A must do when in Tampa. The 1905 salad is worth the hype.

La Sungunda Bakery– the line stretches out the door each day for a reason. The pastries and cuban bread are a must try. They make 18,000 loaves of Cuban bread each DAY. They know how to make great bread.

Versailles- Miami- One of the oldest Cuban restaurants in the country. You can feed a crowd here and the prices won’t break the bank. The bakery next door is where you can pick up some sweet treats as well. One of my favorite meals ever. Fun and filled with families.

Old Cuban Cafe– Get the Grandmother’s rice and the roasted pork sandwich. So good. Don’t let the strip mall location fool you, great food is inside.

These are just my favorites. Share your favorite spots in the comments below.

a glass with a blue rim w filled with an icy cocktail garnished with a mint leave and pineapple wedge

Other fun tropical cocktails to beat the heat: