Ingredients
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4,5 cl of white rum
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2,5 cl of dry vermouth
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2 cl of Orange Curacao
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2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Directions
El Presidente cocktail is one of the great Cuban drinks that made the history of mixed drinks. It is an intense, rich drink with an incredible enveloping flavor, where Caribbean and aromatic flavors come together in an endless whirlwind.
Let’s see immediately the ingredients of the El Presidente cocktail: first of all the distillate, that is the rum, which must be clear, graceful, fragrant and not too rough. A Cuban is fine. Then we have the aromatic part with orange curacao, the Caribbean liqueur made with bitter oranges and dry vermouth. Also in this case try to use two intense, spicy and full of herbaceous references. It is not a cocktail to be taken with gloves, but you have to be daring, to soften this nectar there will be two drops of grenadine, as a sweetener.
The history of the El Presidente cocktail takes us back in time to the early 1900s, when the cocktail had its period of greatest glory, between 1920 and 1940. To escape the puritanical rigor of Prohibition, wealthy Americans used to take long cruises to Cuba to go crazy and drink in peace and the El Presidente cocktail was one of the first that was served at the beginning of these recreational trips.
The inventor is the legendary bartender Eddie Woelke or at least that’s partly true. The cocktail was invented in honor of President Mario García Menocal in 1910 and was perfected in 1919 by Eddie Woelke when he settled in Cuba as a bartender.
There was then a second modification by the next president, Gerardo Machado, who wanted his version of the El Presidente cocktail and so added a small dose of orange curacao to personalize the drink.
And so we can say that the cocktail is the son of both presidents, with the blessing of the good Eddie.
To add a shadow of mystery and some doubts, we tell you that in Harry Craddock’s Savoy cocktail book, published in 1930, there is a cocktail simply called President cocktail and is made with orange juice, grenadine and Bacardi rum. Many derive the recipe from the legendary Harry.
Ingredients and doses of El Presidente cocktail
- 4.5 cl of Cuban white rum
- 2 cl of dry vermouth
- 2 cl orange curacao
- 2 drops of grenadine
How to make the El Presidente cocktail
And yet Hamletic doubts and Hamletic doubt: some make the cocktail with the shaker and those in the mixing glass. Honestly, the shaker is not needed, you do not have to mix honey. A quick stir is more than enough. If you want a slightly lighter cocktail use the shaker, if you prefer a more intense and lewd drink use the mixing glass.
Put all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, stir for 15 seconds and then pour into a well-frozen martini glass and decorate with a maraschino cherry or orange peel.
Other great cocktails to try as an aperitif
Negroni, Mojito, Moscow Mule, Gin & Tonic, Dark and Stormy, Daiquiri, Margarita, Spritz, Hugo, Old Fashioned, Manhattan.
