Up and stirred
El Presidente
Made with homemade grenadine · Havana, Cuba, 1915
- coupe
- none (served up)
- stir
El Presidente
- 1½ oz45 ml white rum (Cuban-style, molasses-based)
- 1½ oz45 ml blanc vermouth (e.g. Dolin Blanc)
- 1 barspoon1 barspoon orange curaçao
- ½ barspoon½ barspoon grenadine
- Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the rum, blanc vermouth, curaçao and grenadine.
- Stir until very cold.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Express an orange twist over the drink; add a cherry if you like.
Garnish: orange twist (cherry optional)
The syrup
In this recipe
Homemade Grenadine½ barspoon½ barspoon
Real grenadine is pomegranate syrup: pomegranate juice and sugar warmed together until dissolved, with optional pomegranate molasses and orange blossom water.
As printed: grenadine ('real grenadine')
Where it comes from
A Havana original that existed by about 1915 and grew famous with the Americans who crowded Cuba's bars during Prohibition; Cuban bartenders printed it in their 1924 manual. Which president it honors, and which bartender invented it, are both disputed.
Source: The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails by David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum (eds.) (2021).
Checked against: Imbibe: Classic El Presidente · Cocktail Kingdom Library: El Presidente (Oxford Companion excerpt) · Punch: El Presidente · Kindred Cocktails: El Presidente
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails
Gear for this drink
Mixology & Craft 16-Piece Cocktail Shaker Set
OXO SteeL Angled Measuring Jigger
Best for Measuring syrup into drinks