El Presidente
El Presidente is a stirred Cuban rum drink: 45ml white rum, 22.5ml dry vermouth, 10ml orange curaçao and 7.5ml grenadine, stirred for 20 to 30 seconds over ice and strained into a chilled coupe, finished with an expressed orange peel. It drinks like a light rum Manhattan, dry and aromatic, with a pale pink colour from the grenadine. It made its name in Havana from the 1920s, during American Prohibition. Who created it and which president it honours are both disputed: Mario García Menocal, president from 1913 to 1921, and Gerardo Machado, president from 1925 to 1933, each have a claim. Older recipes use blanc vermouth, sweeter than dry, in equal measure with the rum. Ours uses dry at two to one with a little more curaçao. Each one comes to about 2.6 UK units.
Glassware: Coupe Glass
Garnish: Orange peel
Ingredients
45ml
A lightly aged, Cuban-style white rum at 37.5 to 40% ABV, dry and clean. It leads the drink, so avoid a sweetened or flavoured rum.
22.5ml
Cold, and no more than a month open. It supplies the wine and the dryness. Blanc vermouth, sweeter and softer, is the older choice; with blanc, consider trimming the curaçao.
10ml
A dry curaçao at 35 to 40% ABV gives orange and body without much sugar. A sweet bottling at around 20% makes the drink noticeably sweeter.
7.5ml
Pomegranate juice and sugar, nothing else. At 7.5ml it brings colour and a little fruit, and should be noticed in the glass more than on the tongue.
Instructions
Chill a coupe.
Add the white rum, dry vermouth, orange curaçao and grenadine to a mixing glass.
Fill with cubed ice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds.
Strain into the chilled coupe.
Express a strip of orange peel over the drink and rest it on the rim.
Our version
The older recipe is equal parts white rum and blanc vermouth with a teaspoon of curaçao and half a teaspoon of grenadine. Ours uses dry vermouth at half the rum, with 10ml curaçao and 7.5ml grenadine to replace the sweetness blanc brings.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Use fresh vermouth. At 22.5ml it is a large share of the drink, and an open bottle left at room temperature turns flat and sour within weeks. Store it cold after opening and finish it inside a month. Measure the grenadine. At 7.5ml it gives colour and a little fruit; a free pour makes the drink pink and sweet. Use one made from pomegranate. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds and strain into a cold glass. A stirred drink has no foam or ice to hide warmth, and El Presidente loses its edge as it warms.
Behind the El Presidente
Flavour Profile
Havana, During Prohibition
El Presidente earned its reputation in Havana from the 1920s, when American Prohibition sent drinkers south and Cuban bars served them. It became a drink of the Cuban upper class as well as of visitors.
Its origin is disputed. It may have been created as early as 1915, at the Vista Alegre or by President Menocal himself; another account credits the American bartender Eddie Woelke, who arrived in Havana in 1920 and named it after Menocal. A rival claim says the president in question was Gerardo Machado.
A Rum Drink Built Like a Manhattan
There is no citrus juice in El Presidente. Rum, vermouth and a liqueur are stirred together, as in a Manhattan, and the result is short, clear and aromatic. That puts it nearer the Bamboo and other vermouth drinks than the Daiquiri.
Blanc or Dry Vermouth
The older recipe uses blanc vermouth in equal measure with the rum, with a teaspoon of curaçao and half a teaspoon of grenadine. Blanc vermouth, also called Chambéry, carries more sugar and less bite than dry, and some bartenders consider dry vermouth a mistake in this drink.
Ours uses dry vermouth at half the rum and raises the curaçao and grenadine to replace the sweetness blanc would bring. The result is drier and sharper; made with blanc, it is rounder.
El Presidente, the older recipe and ours
Older recipe
- Rum
- One part white rum
- Vermouth
- One part blanc
- Curaçao
- One teaspoon
- Grenadine
- Half a teaspoon
Ours
- Rum
- 45ml white rum
- Vermouth
- 22.5ml dry
- Curaçao
- 10ml
- Grenadine
- 7.5ml
| Version | Rum | Vermouth | Curaçao | Grenadine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Older recipe | One part white rum | One part blanc | One teaspoon | Half a teaspoon |
| Ours | 45ml white rum | 22.5ml dry | 10ml | 7.5ml |
Curaçao and Grenadine
The orange curaçao adds orange and body. A dry curaçao at 35% or more keeps the drink lean; a sweet one pushes it towards dessert.
The grenadine is a seasoning at 7.5ml. It gives the pale pink colour and a trace of red fruit, and a pomegranate grenadine tastes of fruit where a cheap one tastes only of sugar.
How Strong It Is
Taking the rum and curaçao at 40% ABV and the vermouth at 18%, El Presidente comes to about 2.6 UK units in a short glass. The vermouth softens how it tastes, not how strong it is.
Make it at home
The Spirit
White RumWhite rum is clear rum, usually bottled at 40% ABV, either unaged or rested in oak and then charcoal-filtered back to clear. It is the light, dry rum of the Daiquiri, the Mojito and the Cuba Libre, and the rum most of our recipes mean when they want rum that sits under lime rather than over it.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in an El Presidente?
Who is El Presidente named after?
Should El Presidente use dry or blanc vermouth?
How strong is an El Presidente?
What does an El Presidente taste like?
Can I use aged or spiced rum in an El Presidente?
Is El Presidente shaken or stirred?
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026