Meet the Fam: Diana Figueroa & David Roque

Country

Cuba! 

IG account

@therealjibaros 

Where they work 

Owners of Jíbaro’s; founders of @conbachavana and proud family members of @lamata_cuba 

Meet Project La Mata—Winner of the Tahona Society Competition 2021 

Reason to visit Los Jíbaro’s 

For 5 years now, Jíbaro’s is the place to try cocktails made with 100% natural ingredients. 

Favorite cocktails 

Diana loves a Paloma and David enjoys making and drinking a Negroni. 

Favorite bartender 

Elliot Ball from CTC.  

An anecdote to share

Hobbies 

Diana loves to read, watch cooking shows, and everything sea and sun related. David loves music, hiking, and hanging out and talking about cocktails for long hours. 

Recommended restaurant for local food in Cuba

Ropa Vieja is the main local food dish—a delicious staple! Our restaurant recommendation: a small place called Locos por Cuba, near Havana University. 

How it all started

When they first opened Jíbaro’s, there was a temporary ban on liquor licenses in Cuba so in a matter of months they had to develop a totally new cocktail menu of nonalcoholic drinks, something very new in Cuba. 

In order to achieve this in a country with so few options of quality and complex ingredients, Diana and David began to study and develop this kind of products for Jíbaro’s. Eventually they started getting demand from other bars and restaurants. Everything started from this initial investigation and development work, continued with a very “royal mojito” and the creation of ConBAC: the first cocktail event organized by private owners of the industry in Cuba. 

About Royal Mojito

Diana says that is very common in Cuba to make a mojito in its own container. The spearmint, along with its stem, is macerated in the glass, resulting in a bitter and cloudy mojito, or as we call it: a dirty mojito!

Tips and tricks to share with the bartender community