The recipe
- 1½ ozWhite rum45 ml
- 1½ ozBlanc vermouth (such as Dolin Blanc)45 ml
- 1 tspDry orange curaçao
- ½ tspGrenadine
- 1 dashAngostura bitters
How to make it
- 1Stir everything with ice.
- 2Strain into a chilled martini glass.
- 3Twist a strip of orange peel over the drink and drop it in.
Garnish: An orange twist.
Variations: Many recipes, Punch’s among them, use gold rum and dry vermouth, two parts rum to one of vermouth, with more curaçao.
No early Cuban recipe could be checked; this is the version David Wondrich gives in Imbibe!. Blanc vermouth or dry is the main disagreement between recipes.
The ratio
1 : 1
In parts, an El Presidente is 1 rum and 1 blanc vermouth. Plus a touch of Curaçao and grenadine. Change one part and you have a cousin; the closest are below.
Built the same way
Head to head
More Martinis & Manhattans
- Adonis — Sweet vermouth and sherry with orange bitters, stirred: a soft, low-alcohol aperitif named for an 1880s Broadway hit.
- Algonquin — Rye, dry vermouth and pineapple juice: a dry, fruity Manhattan cousin.
- Angel Face — Equal parts gin, apricot liqueur and Calvados: strong, fruity and spirit-forward, with an orchard character.
- Bamboo — Dry vermouth and dry sherry in equal parts with orange bitters, stirred: light, nutty and dry, at about half the strength of a Martini.
- Bijou — Gin, green Chartreuse and sweet vermouth in equal parts with orange bitters, stirred: herbal, sweet and strong.
- Black Manhattan — A Manhattan with the Sicilian amaro Averna in place of sweet vermouth: darker, bittersweet and a little herbal.