The El Presidente earned its
acclaim in Havana, Cuba during the 1920s staying very popular through the American
Prohibition. One story is that it was created by an American bartender, Eddie Woelke who named it
after Mario Garcia Menochal soon after moving to Havana.
First accurately described in a 1919
article in the New
York Evening Telegram, this Cuban mixture of “Bacardi, granatin and French vermouth” was apparently christened in honor of Mario García
Menocal, president of that country from 1913 to 1921 and a man who didn’t mind
throwing a lip over a cocktail. Temperate people, the Cubans had only
recently learned to appreciate the American mixed drink, but this one they
liked. By the mid 1920s, the more discriminating among the massive influx of
bibulous Yanquis that American
Prohibition brought into the Queen City of the Caribbean had learned to like it
too.
El Presidente - 2 oz. Doorly's White Rum.
- ¾ oz. Dolin’s Dry Vermouth
- ¾ oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- Garnish: Orange Zest.
Place all ingredients except the orange zest in a mixing
glass and stir. Strain into a cocktail
glass and garnish with an orange zest.
P
