El Presidente

This cocktail is made with blanc vermouth - some recipes call for dry vermouth and that will yield a cocktail that does not work as well.

You can use triple sec for this cocktail but it might become too sweet. If you do so, consider adding only half a barspoon of grenadine, or omitting it altogether.

This drink is a departure from drinks such as the Daiquiri or the Mojito, and anything in the Tropical & Tiki Category. It is elegant, balanced and is meant to be sipped. Give it a try if you enjoy other spirit forward drinks.

This drink was created for Mario García Menocal, Cuba’s 3rd president, who served from 1913 to 1921. 

The oldest mention of this recipe is in a 1919 article in the New York Evening Telegram. It apparently was the preferred drink of Cuba's aristocracy. 

El Presidente is considered Cuba’s answer to the Manhattan and it was possibly made following the influx of American tourists traveling to Havana during Prohibition.

Pan American Airways (Pan Am) used to serve a variant of this cocktail potentially because they received an exclusive deal to fly between Miami and Havana.

Pan Am's variant was called the Clipper Cocktail (not to be confused with the Pan-American Clipper), and it contained gold rum, vermouth, and grenadine. The name Clipper comes from the Boeing Airboats of the same name.