Ingredients
Drink
- 60 mlwhite or lightly aged Cuban-style rum
- 30 mlblanc or dry vermouth
- 1 tsporange curaçao
- 1 tspgrenadine
- ice for stirring
To serve
- a chilled coupe
- an orange twist
Directions
- Keep it refrigerated after opening and use it within a month or two. A light Cuban-style rum is right: clean, dry and lightly aged rather than heavy and molasses-rich.
- Use a dry orange curaçao rather than a sweet blue one. This drink is stirred, never shaken. Fill a mixing glass with plenty of ice and pour everything over. Stir with a bar spoon for twenty to thirty seconds.
- Stir long enough to chill it properly, since a briefly stirred drink is warm and harsh. The outside of the glass should frost.
- Use plenty of ice, since a full glass of ice melts more slowly and gives better control.
- Strain it into a chilled coupe, leaving all the ice behind. Chill the glass in the freezer beforehand, which keeps it cold to the last sip.
- Twist a strip of orange peel over the surface to release its oils, then drop it in. It should be dry, aromatic and faintly sweet, with the rum and vermouth in balance.
- Serve it immediately, while it is properly cold.
Technique
- It belongs to 1920s Havana, when American Prohibition drove drinkers there.
- The vermouth must be blanc or dry French, not sweet red.
- The grenadine is for colour and rounding, not sweetness.
Substitutions
- Cointreau in place of orange curaçao, using slightly less.
- A good light aged rum in place of Cuban.
Variations
- Made with dry French vermouth, which is drier still.
- Made without grenadine, as some recipes do.
- With a maraschino cherry rather than an orange twist.
History
A Havana drink of the 1920s named for the Cuban president; American bartenders working through Prohibition made it the city’s fashionable aperitif.
Frequently asked questions
What is El Presidente?
El Presidente is a cocktail from Cuba: stirred rum, vermouth and curacao cocktail, amber and dry. A Havana drink of the 1920s named for the Cuban president; American bartenders working through Prohibition made it the city’s fashionable aperitif.
How long does El Presidente take to make?
El Presidente takes 3 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in El Presidente?
Yes, within limits. Cointreau in place of orange curaçao, using slightly less. A good light aged rum in place of Cuban.
What is the most important thing to get right in El Presidente?
Keep it refrigerated after opening and use it within a month or two. A light Cuban-style rum is right: clean, dry and lightly aged rather than heavy and molasses-rich.
