America's Sweetheart -- The Mary Pickford
12/04/2016
Mary who? Mary Pickford was Hollywood's first popular female star. Nicknamed "America's Sweetheart," after acting in numerous films in the first decades of the 20th century she became a co-founder of United Artists film studio. She also was one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- you know, the people who give out the Oscars. Eddie Woelkem, an American bartender in Havana, created the Mary Pickford in the 1920s when she shot a movie there.
2 ounces light rum
1 ounce fresh pineapple juice
.25 Luxardo maraschino liqueur
.25 ounces glorious grenadine
Combine into a shaker with ice, shake with the tenacity of a lady who succeeded in early Hollywood, and strain into a martini or coupe glass (for some movie star glamour). Luxardo maraschino cherry garnish optional.
The Mary Pickford gives you a great balance of booze, citrus, and sweetness. I can't emphasize enough the importance of using fresh pineapple juice. If you have to use sweetened pineapple juice, you may want to add a little rum. An intriguing variation is to combine an ounce of clear and aged rum. If you're into cocktail history, Woelke also is credited with creating the El Presidente. Woelke was an American who plied his craft in Cuba during Prohibition. Along with the Daiquiri and the El Presidente, the Mary Pickford shows there's a fascinating history of Americans creating cocktails in Cuba.
Like the actress for whom it is named, if you want a cocktail that's sweet, glamorous, and strong, have a Mary Pickford.
Nice little history. When the line in your first paragraph ended, "....when she shot a..." my 21st Century sensibilities immediately conjured up the following possibilities before I read the too mundane ,"a movie there": a) a gangster b) a deranged fan c) an American politician d) her lover e) Fidel Castro's father (Fidel would have been my preferred answer, but he was born in 1926). Of course, in these days when tweets allow you to create the "truth," we have an opportunity to change the record and make a much more exciting version of the story. So, I'll go with "Fidel as my answer. Will someone please forward this to Breitbart.
Posted by: Henry Wulf | 12/05/2016 at 06:25 AM