Cuban Presidente ½ shot of rum ½ shot of French dry vermouth 1 teaspoon of grenadine syrup 1 dash of Curacao
Rum first in the bar glass, then the vermouth, Curacao, and syrup. Put in the ice. Stir (never shake). After straining into the serving glass, add a piece of orange peel.
This is the drink to toast the Cuban “presidente” (who ever he may at the present moment). A heady salute for a nation's head. It might be mentioned that some prefer their Presidente with grenadine only and without the Curacao.
New Orleans Presidente
1 tablespoon grenadine syrup 1 shot of rum 1 tablespoon orange juice
Shake with ice, lots of it cracked fine, and strain into a cocktail glass.
American Presidente
1 small shot of rum 1 small shot of French dry vermouth 1 lemon—juice only 1 dash of Curacao 1 dash of grenadine syrup
Proceed as with the Cuban Presidente and drop a maraschino cherry into the cocktail glass before straining the mixture into it. An absorbent coaster is best to serve with this cocktail.
Today several brands of rum, made from Louisiana sugar cane molasses, are finding favor, even among those who have long believed that rum, to be good, must come from Cuba, Jamaica, or Puerto Rico.
Grog
2 shots of rum Water Ice
Pour the rum into an 8-ounce tumbler, add ice, and fill to the brim with water. Stir. Drink.
In the old days in Louisiana, especially in that section settled by the British, Irish, and Scottish pioneers, the tipple in high favor was called "grog." It was made of the locally distilled “tafia” or rum, and was dispensed by the British plantation owners of the Feliciana district as a cheap yet potent beverage to slaves who worked the cotton fields.
Many references to the drink are to be found in tattered documents written during the days of the Spanish domination. It was set down in them as "mezcla de ar-guardiente con agua."
In 1753 the French of New Orleans knew rum as a “drogue” (a cheap or sorry commodity) and, while it was known as tafia, it was also called “guildive” (divine fermentation), and “eau de vie sucre,” meaning "sugar brandy."
The name "Grog" was derived from "grogram," a material of rough texture, ordinarily of camel's wool, used in the making of cloaks. The designation came about in this way: in 1740 Admiral Edward Vernon liberally diluted with water the rum he served the sailors aboard his frigate. It was the admiral's custom to wear a grogram cloak in foul weather, and for this reason the tars called him "Old Grog" behind his back.
Forthwith his tars derisively termed the weakened drink "grog," and the name has stuck through the centuries, as witness "grog shop," likewise "groggy," indicating the unsteady gait that follows a too-liberal sampling of spirits.
Planter's Punch 2 lumps of sugar 1 dash of Peychaud bitters 1 lime—juice only 1 large shot of water 2 large shots of rum
The Planter's Punch calls for a tall glass. Squeeze the lime juice on the sugar. Add the bitters, water, and the two full shots of rum; fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice. Frappe well with a long-handled bar spoon. Sift a little nutmeg on top or a dash of red pepper if you don't mind the bite and serve on a sandstone coaster.
The southern planter had something there! If this man-sized drink were indeed part of a planter's life on a Southern plantation, there was more to his routine than cotton balls, sugar cane, slaves, and offspring. As we have all along contended, good old sugar cane molasses rum was the planter's standby, notwithstanding traditional tales of the huge consumption of Monongahela red whiskey.
