El Presidente
Maine-based journalist Wayne Curtis is an understated and witty writer who can tell a solid yarn about a cocktail’s history. He wrote this article, about “tracking a lost Cuban cocktail to its lair,” for Lost magazine. Here’s the recipe for El Presidente, verbatim from the article:
Over ice in a tall mixing glass, pour:
- 1-1/2 oz. rum
- 3/4 oz. curacao
- 3/4 oz. dry vermouth
- 1/2 tsp of grenadine
Stir well with ice for three or four minutes, then strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel twist.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:42 am
this drinks sounds good and i will try one….and the article is almost exceptionally good until he gets to the end and after criticizing bartenders for forgetting how to make drinks suggests using grand marnier in the recipe and pomegranite mollases…….poor bastard.
March 16th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Ooooh, right. I forgot to warn about those suggestions. I actually have tried to make grenadine out of pomegranate molasses, and it did not work at all. It was much too syrupy, even after I diluted it, and it turns your drink brown. Ick.
August 16th, 2007 at 11:56 am
[…] Take, for instance, the El Presidente and the Scoff Law. Without dry vermouth, the former would be a forgettable, sweet drink, and the latter would be a disjointed combination of flavors. The Independent has a slight variation of the El Presidente on its current menu; it contains a little fresh lime juice, and it’s delicious and refreshing. The Scoff Law is a drink that’ll probably wind up on the menu for drinkboston’s upcoming Chartreuse Cocktails event at Green Street. The flavors balance each other out and create an entirely new taste. (There’s a Scoff Law variation, also delicious, with rye, dry vermouth, lemon juice and grenadine.) […]
March 18th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Why does one need to stir this for three or four minutes? That seems a bit [excessive | tiresome | insane]… I am not sure there will be any ice left after that much stirring!
March 21st, 2008 at 5:04 pm
That’s a good question. Will have to track down Mr. Curtis to see about that one.