This is the last recipe for Pink Week here on Garnish, and imagine my dismay when I made it and found that it was not, in fact, pink. I guess my homemade grenadine doesn’t have quite enough red pigment in it for the Mary Pickford. Most pictures you see of this cocktail are pink, but I assure you, if yours turns out more of a peachy color, you haven’t done anything wrong.
Grenadine admittedly plays a supporting role in the Mary Pickford, but it does the job well. The key players are white rum and pineapple juice, with a bit of maraschino liqueur to round out the taste. It’s a very tropical drink, but it’s not over-the-top. For one thing, the recipe I made had 2 oz. of rum, resulting in a pretty strong cocktail. The maraschino liqueur also lends an edge of sophistication to the taste. It’s definitely a cocktail to keep in mind for any sort of tropical or beach-themed party, or as a go-to for friends who like their drinks fairly sweet.
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| Mary Pickford |
History: Mary Pickford was a star of the silent film era, known as “America’s Sweetheart” (even though she was from Canada). She won the second-ever Academy Award for Best Actress in 1929 for her performance in Coquette. Like many affluent Americans of the time, she and her husband Douglas Fairbanks vacationed in Cuba to escape Prohibition laws. It seems clear that a bartender at a Havana hotel created this cocktail for Mary and gave it her name; what is unclear is who and where. It seems it was either Eddie Woelke at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba or Fred Kaufman at the Hotel Sevilla. Doug Ford over at Cold Glass tells me that Kaufman has the better claim. Check out his post on the cocktail as well.
Mary Pickford
2 oz. white rum
1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
1 tsp. grenadine
1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a cocktail or coupe glass. Garnish with cherries if desired.
Recipe from Vintage Cocktails.