The El Presidente Cocktail

>> 1/16/09

In the wake of the big Festivus Cubano and its voluminous leftovers, I decided to make a round of the Cuban cocktail that goes by the name El Presidente. Hemingway was a fan of many Caribbean cocktails and perhaps one of these passed his lips at some point.
Follow the above link for a recipe, but in the handful of times I've made it, El Presidente has been pretty forgiving of the ratios. Feel free to use a splash here, a splash there, add something nuevo, it's all bueno. The important part is to focus on the citrus flavors. In the pictured variation I used lime juice instead of lemon juice and fresh pomegranate juice as opposed to grenadine: I feel this is fresher and better tasting than the straight recipe. And that's a wedge of clementine floating in the glass, not just a strip of peel. A dash of grapefruit bitters finished things off nicely.
I'll say it again: the importance of citrus cannot be ignored when it comes to proper cocktails. And I'm referring both to the use of fresh squeezed juices (never canned or bottled!) as well as the right liqueurs for the right occasion. My home bar includes Gran Gala (a delicious and affordable substitute for Gran Marinier), Orange Curaçao (made from the peels of the laraha citrus), and of course the elegant Cointreau, which is currently being promoted by the lovely Dita Von Teese.

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