Hail to The Chief: El Presidente cocktail

If you thought booze was any less susceptible faddism than any other thing in your life, think again. Case in point is the current affaire d'amour many bartenders are having with rum. Long forgotten and now popping up everywhere, not just on bar menus but on the front of the bar's themselves (here in PDX we have bartender extraordinaire Kevin Ludwig's new and very cool booze boite Rum Club), Rum is having its 15 minutes. Long ignored is the fact that rum has a long and storied history as a main ingredient in many a pre-prohibition cocktail.

For those who have forgotten their drink history, may I suggest you immediately run out and buy a copy of the Washington Post drinks columnist ("Drinks columnist"...I should sue my college academic adviser for negligence. I don't seem to remember "drinks columnist" ever being mentioned as a career option) Jason Wilson's excellent and inspiring booze bible appropriately titled "Boozehound". I've referenced Wilson and his intoxicating skill set many times on this blog (just search his name in the search box upper left) and almost without fail he's steered me right. His book should have a prominent seat at the bar of all drinks aficionados. At the end of his chapter "Of Politics and Rum" he offers the following recipe for the "El Presidente". He writes that it was "Popular in Havana during the 1920 and 1930s and was reportedly offered to President Calvin Coolidge by then Cuban president Gerardo Machado. Coolidge, mindful of Prohibition back home, declined the drink." I highly encourage you to find out what Coolidge was missing out on, because this is a deeply refreshing drink with a rich, fruity complexity. Wilson recommends using an aged rum in this drink, which I heartily endorse. I used Flor de Caña 7 year old off my home bar. It was perfecto!
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El Presidente
from Jason Wilson's "Boozehound"
ingredients:
1-1/2 ounces aged rum
3/4 ounce dry vermouth
3/4 ounce Cointreau
1/2 teaspoon grenadine (I found the excellent REAL grenadine made by Sonoma Syrups at New Seasons here in PDX. It's worth searching out!)
Orange peel twist for garnish

method:
Fill a mixing glass two-thirds full with ice. Add the rum, vermouth, Cointreau, and grenadine. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist.

Forget the revolution, let's have a drink!

Any country that uses a drink competition to name its Trago Nacional, or "national swig." because "Nicaragua needs a new identity that doesn't have anything to do with revolution." deserves my respect and attention. Hell, any country that has a national drink is to be be given its proper due! I read about this bit of national enlightenment/envy in this column by the Washington Post's spirits writer Jason Wilson. He cynically mused that the drink actually has more to do with "a familiar sense of cultural envy: Cuba had its mojito. Mexico had the margarita. Why didn't Nicaragua have its own cocktail?" Why indeed? Being that we are experiencing a bout of early fall weather that wouldn't be out of place in a tropical country, it seemed the perfect moment to feel brotherhood with this perennially dysfunctional Central American nation.

As I've mentioned many times before, the national drink of my despotically ruled 50'x100' plot of Portlandia is the negroni. But like all leaders, I want to understand the broader world, so with that in mind I went to the local mercato and purchased the necessary guava juice, went home to my palatial presidential estate, and shook and strained out this deliciously refreshing bit of Latin American culture (as much as something that was invented out of the ether just 3 years ago can be of cultural significance). It did have a perfect bit of sweet tartness, and the not-too-fruity guava juice was the perfect match with the rum. It would definitely not be out of place at a tiki party. All I can say is "Viva la Revolucion!!", because this is one drink any nation should would proud to call its own!
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El Macua Cocktail
Recipe and the following summary from Jason Wilson: Named after a tropical bird native to Central America, this was declared the "national drink of Nicaragua" in late 2006, after a countrywide competition that took place during the heat of that year's ugly presidential campaign. El Macua is light, tart and only a bit sweet: the perfect drink for a warm afternoon. Goya's guava juice is good to use, though guava nectar by Jumex is acceptable (the drink will be yellow instead of pink). Though white rum works best, an aged rum such as Flor de Caña's 7-year is also nice.

1 serving
ingredients:
Ice
2 ounces rum
2 ounces guava juice (see headnote)
1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup (see NOTE)
Orange slice, for garnish

method:
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the rum, guava juice, lemon juice and simple syrup; shake well for at least 30 seconds, then strain into an ice-filled highball or Collins glass.
Garnish with the orange slice.
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: Anthony Bourdain's hair, the early years!