Bodeguita del medio La Complaciente" in Empedrado Street, in the old Havana district. He renamed the place Casa Martínez. Angel Martínez sold typical Cuban products and, from time to time, served dinner to the regulars. But mainly, the people who were found at the Casa Martínez, were there to have a drink with their friends, and savor a brand new cocktail called Mojito, made with rum, mint, sugar, lemon and club soda. In 1949, the cook Silvia Torres aka “la china” prepared the food. Very quickly, the Casa Martínez became the centre of Havana’s cultural effervescence. Attracted by the bohemian charm of the
El Presidente (cocktail) El Presidente (cocktail) The El Presidente is a mix of rum, orange curaçao, dry vermouth, and grenadine. The El Presidente earned its acclaim in Havana, Cuba during the 1920s through the 1940s during the American Prohibition. It quickly became the preferred drink of the Cuban upper class. There are two rival stories of who the cocktail is named after. One is Gerardo Machado who was president 1925-1933. The other is Mario García Menocal who was president 1913-1921. Machado gave Pan American Airways (Pan Am) exclusive rights to fly the Florida-Havana route. This may be the reason that Pan Am served