El Presidente (Dry Vermouth)
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 25.3% ABV ∙
The El Presidente is a Cuban rum cocktail of light gold rum, vermouth, orange curaçao, and a touch of grenadine, stirred up and served straight up. Silky and lightly sweet, with mellow gold rum, herbaceous vermouth, and a whisper of orange and pomegranate on a clean, dry finish — an elegant aperitif.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Light gold rum 50 mlDry vermouth 30 mlOrange curaçao liqueur 10 mlGrenadine syrup 5 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled coupe glass
- Express an orange twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Use only a few drops of grenadine — enough to blush the drink pink without tipping it into sweet.
- The original calls for hard-to-find blanc vermouth; dry vermouth, as used here, gives a crisper result.
- Chill the coupe in the freezer first so the served-up drink stays cold without dilution.
- A single orange twist expressed over the surface adds the citrus lift that defines the drink.
History
El Presidente is a rum cocktail associated with Havana, where it earned its reputation through the 1920s and 1930s during American Prohibition, becoming a favorite among the Cuban elite. Sources disagree on its exact origin: cocktail historian David Wondrich traces its first printed appearance to 1919 in the New York Telegram, while a 1920s Cuban bar manual, the Manual del Cantinero, places its creation as early as 1910 or 1915. Accounts also differ on who it was named for, citing either Mario García Menocal, Cuban president from 1913 to 1921, or Gerardo Machado, president from 1925 to 1933.
American bartender Eddie Woelke, who worked at Havana's Jockey Club during the Prohibition years, is usually credited with creating the drink. According to this account, his original build was a simple mix of equal parts white rum and dry vermouth, sweetened with a barspoon of grenadine — the dry vermouth this build follows, with curaçao said to have entered the recipe only later, after Machado took office and reportedly asked for his own version.
FAQ
What's in an El Presidente cocktail?
An El Presidente is made with light gold rum, dry vermouth, orange curaçao, and a small amount of grenadine. The original Havana recipe called for blanc (Chambéry) vermouth, but the drink is commonly made with dry vermouth, as this version is.
What kind of alcohol is El Presidente?
El Presidente is a rum cocktail. Its base spirit is light gold rum, rounded out with dry vermouth, orange curaçao liqueur, and grenadine, for a drink of about 25% ABV served up in a coupe.
What rum is best for an El Presidente?
A light gold (añejo) Cuban-style rum is traditional, giving mellow body without overpowering the vermouth. A clean aged rum works better than a heavy dark rum, which would bury the drink's delicate orange and pomegranate notes.
Is an El Presidente shaken or stirred?
It is stirred with ice and strained, then served straight up. Stirring keeps this spirit-and-vermouth drink silky and clear rather than aerated. Some bartenders shake it, but stirring best suits its elegant, aperitif character.
What glass is an El Presidente served in?
An El Presidente is served straight up in a chilled coupe glass, garnished with a twist of orange peel and sometimes a cherry. Serving it up, without ice, keeps the presentation crisp and traditional.
