How to Make
“El Presidente” dark rum cocktail

The El Presidente cocktail history is tied to a very specific Cuban citizen, President Mario García Menocal, who ran the country from 1913 to 1921. Menocal had been educated in the States and was a hero in the war against Spain. The cocktail, naturally, was born out of Cuban rum and many bartenders prefer to use a Gold Rum as the base. Mixing with a spirit that has maturity and finesse is certainly an excellent idea for a drink that had been deemed the “aristocrat of cocktails” by historic society correspondent of the day and cocktail documentarist, Basil Woon. In 1928, Woon wrote “When It’s Cocktail Time in Cuba,” capturing a portrait of the vibe of Havana of the time period. Imagine a lively scene of cocktail culture and energy derived from so many expats streaming into the nearest country where drinking alcohol was still legal.

First documented in 1919 in the “New York Evening Telegram” and later recorded in 1924 via the “Manuel del Cantinero” by León Pujol and Oscar Muñiz, the cocktail’s exact inventor and date of creation hasn’t truly been nailed down. Eric Felten notes in his 2007 “How’s Your Drink” book that the most likely claim to origin was at the Vista Alegre Club in Santiago, Cuba. The Vista Alegre was an Americanized cocktail club that catered to the influx of well-to-do Americans escaping Prohibition in the early 1910’s and 1920’s. The other possible candidate is the Sevilla Hotel in Havana, where well known international professional, Eddie Woelke helmed the bar in the 1920’s.