Head to head
Hotel Nacional Special and Mary Pickford side by side: what changes in the recipe, the balance, the strength and the calories.
The difference, by the numbers
Both have pineapple juice. Only the Hotel Nacional Special has aged rum, lime juice and apricot liqueur; only the Mary Pickford has white rum, Maraschino liqueur and grenadine. In parts, a Hotel Nacional Special is 3 rum, 3 pineapple, 1 lime and ¼ apricot; a Mary Pickford is 1 rum and 1 pineapple. By volume, the Hotel Nacional Special is 41% mixer and juice, 41% spirit, 14% citrus and 4% liqueur; the Mary Pickford is 44% mixer and juice, 44% spirit, 7% liqueur and 5% syrup and sugar. That makes them close cousins on the ratio map.
The Mary Pickford is the stronger drink in the glass (12.7% ABV against 11.4%), but being smaller it holds about the same alcohol (1.08 and 1.15 standard drinks). The Mary Pickford has more calories (about 163 against 140) and more sugar (9.6 g against 6.3 g). Both are shaken and served in a coupe.
Fruity & Up · Rum
The ratio · 3 : 3 : 1 : ¼
Full Hotel Nacional Special recipe →
Highlighted: not in the Mary Pickford.
Fruity & Up · Rum
The ratio · 1 : 1
Highlighted: not in the Hotel Nacional Special.
Each drink sits nearer the corners it has more of: spirit, vermouth and bitter, citrus, mixer, syrup or liqueur. The gray dots are the other classics. Explore the full ratio map.
Hotel Nacional Special vs.
Mary Pickford vs.