How to Make the
Mary Pickford dark rum cocktail

Mary Pickford’s height of fame also coincided with the onset of Prohibition (1920-1933) which among other things led to a mass migration of celebrities and bartenders heading to places like Cuba where alcohol had not been banned. This new Americanization of Cuban bars became trendy and attracted all sorts of talented barmen. This included crafty mixologists of the time like New Yorker Eddie Woelke and the Englishman Fred Kaufman. So who invented the Mary Pickford cocktail? Both are considered to be the most likely candidates to have first mixed up the pineapple cocktail with rum known as the Mary Pickford in Havana, Cuba. As to when the Mary Pickford cocktail was invented, Pickford’s actual stay in Cuba wasn’t very long and in fact it is likely that the maraschino and rum drink mix known by her namesake was created in her absence sometime in the 1920’s by one of these two men. The best efforts at narrowing down the Mary Pickford cocktail origins is the written account of the recipe in “When It’s Cocktail Time in Cuba,” by Basil Woon in 1928. Following that, bars around the world including the Savoy Hotel in London began mixing up the drink. Think of the drink’s popularity like a celebrity endorsement likely without the actual endorsement. Either way, it’s quite the treat to have a drink live on long after one’s passing and make it into cocktail lore.