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El Presidente

Cuban classic cocktails – El Presedente was created in Club El Chico in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village (Cuba). My favorite version of this cocktail (without lime juice and bitters) was found on Esquire Drink Database (by D. Wondrich).

El Presidente

45 ml white rum
15 ml orange curacao
20 ml dry vermouth
1 dash grenadine
Stir with cracked ice. Strain in cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel.

Cocktail El Presidente has amazing orange color if it right prepared. I use rum Havana Club Anejo Blanco for excellent results and homemade grenadine for right taste and color.

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Claridge

This elegant cocktail was invented in lobby-bar Savoy Hotel (not Claridge as you may reflect!). Claridge Cocktail has very interesting and real taste. I think it is ideal on after work evening or romantic night.

Claridge

30 ml gin
30 ml dry vermouth
15 ml Cointreau
15 ml apricot brandy
Shake. Cocktail glass.

Admirable! Claridge Cocktail has unique rich sweet taste. Actually the taste of Claridge Cocktail not depend on its coldness – this cocktail has very good taste at room temperature.

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Pegu Club

Pegu Club Cocktail is very interesting drink. It was born in Pegu Club, Rangoon, Burma about 1927. I think it was very interesting place and time. Great time for great classical cocktails and very unusual place – Burma…

I payed attention for Pegu Club Cocktail on my blog. But I think that this classical cocktail is worthy of most detailed investigation. I try some version of this cocktail from competent sources for best understanding of Pegu Club Cocktail.

First recipe was found on Esquire Drink Database:

Pegu Club #1

60 ml gin
20 ml orange curacao
20 ml fresh lime juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Shake with a lot of cracked ice. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with lime wedge.

We have sour and bitter-taste cocktail in result. I think that it is great aperetive but it is not my choice.

Two next recipe was found on CocktailDB:

Pegu Club #2

60 ml gin
30 ml ml orange curacao
5 ml fresh lime juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Stir with ice. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with lime wedge.

This cocktail is awful. It has oily-sweet and very bitter taste. As for me it is disappointing thing. But this cocktail let me to understand one key problem of Pegu Club Cocktail. One of key thing of Pegu is airing of a drink. Airing of coctail during it shaking give us smooth and pleasant drink.

Next recipe of Pegu Cocktail was found on CocktailDB too. The composition of this version of Pegu Club Cocktail seems very interesting:

Pegu Club #3

50 ml gin
15 ml orange curacao
8 ml fresh lime juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Shake (Hard! Bruise it!) with a lot of cracked (or crushed) ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with lime wedge.

This cocktail has bright, very aromatic and smooth bitter taste. Actually this Pegu Club Cocktail is great cocktail. For best result you must shake your cocktail very, very hard. I use crushed ice and shake hard my cocktail about 30 – 45 sec. In this condition the airing of drink is optimal and we obtain great cocktail.

I try version of Pegu Cocktail by Dale DeGroff too.

Pegu Club by Dale DeGroff

60 ml gin
20 ml orange curacao
2 lime wedge
2 dash Angostura bitters
Muddle lime with liqueur and bitters, then add gin, ice and shake. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with lime wedge.

It is very interesting and refreshing cocktail. This version of Pegu Club Cocktail has light bitter taste and is good balanced. The taste of this cocktail is more closest to #3 version but has some interesting notes of lime essential oils from peel. Actually it is very interesting drink.