Bacardi Cocktail
45 ml White rum, 20 ml Lime juice, 10 ml Grenadine, 1 Lime wedge
El Presidente
Havana, vermouth and orange, long before Castro.
Classic
Medium
4 min
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 270 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 270 ml line. White rum - An aged Cuban-style rum makes the truest version
- 135 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 135 ml line. Bianco vermouth
- 45 ml Jigger One small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon and a teaspoon. Orange curaçao
- 15 ml Spoons A tablespoon. Grenadine - A barspoon - enough to bring the colour up, no more
- 6 twists Orange twist (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Stir everything over ice and strain into a chilled coupe.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 474 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the rum, vermouth, orange liqueur and grenadine.
- Stir for 30 seconds.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Express an orange peel over the top and drop it in.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
El Presidente
This was the drink of Havana in the 1920s, when American prohibition sent everybody with money to Cuba and the bars of the capital became the best in the world. Constantino Ribalaigua Vert, of the Floridita, is usually credited with it, and the name was for the president of the day - though which president, and whether it was Mario García Menocal or Gerardo Machado, depends on who is telling it.
Getting it right
The barspoon of grenadine is a lovely trick and an easy one to spoil: it is there for a blush of colour and a hint of red fruit, and a proper pour turns an elegant drink into a pink one. Bianco vermouth rather than dry keeps it generous, and stirring rather than shaking keeps it clear - this is a drink that should look as composed as it tastes.
Tasting notes
Dry and softly herbal, with orange peel and a whisper of pomegranate over a clean rum base. It is the kind of drink that improves an evening simply by being in it.
More White rum cocktails
Blue Hawaiian
45 ml White rum, 20 ml Blue curaçao, 60 ml Pineapple juice, 20 ml Coconut cream, 15 ml Lemon juice, 1 wedge Pineapple, 1 Maraschino cherry
Cuba Libre
50 ml White rum, 120 ml Cola, 10 ml Lime juice, 1 Lime wedge