Easy to Make Drinks: The Mary Pickford Cocktail Recipe

Mary Pickford, not only was she a famous silent film star but according to a few theories, during a trip that she made to Cuba, this stunning tropical rum cocktail recipe was made in her honor, and is so tasty good!

It’s a classic and one of my favorite prohibition-era cocktail recipes, the Mary Pickford Cocktail.

Who Was Mary Pickford?

Mary Pickford was one of the most influential figures in early Hollywood. Known as “America’s Sweetheart” and “the girl with the curls,” she was a forerunner in the film industry at a time when very few women held real power in it. She co-founded United Artists in 1919 alongside Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith, giving artists creative and financial control over their own work. For her time, that was a radical move.

The cocktail’s origin story is a good one, even if the details are a little loose. The story goes that Mary Pickford was in Havana with Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks during the 1920s, when a bartender at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, either Eddie Woelke or Fred Kaufmann depending on who’s telling it, created this drink in her honor. It’s now been established that Pickford didn’t actually travel to Cuba during that period, but the cocktail exists, it’s delicious, and the story is too good to fully let go of.

Prohibition-era Havana was a destination for Americans looking for a good drink and a good time, and the Hotel Nacional was at the center of it. A lot of classic cocktails trace their roots to that era and that city. The Mary Pickford is one of the best of them.

Long Live the Mary Pickford Cocktail

Albeit, it’s become a known fact that Mary Pickford didn’t actually travel to Cuba during the 1920s, the stories are still fun to tell. She was known as the “girl with the curls” and was a forerunner in the film industry.

Supposedly she was in Havana along with Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, when either Eddie Woelke or Fred Kaufmann (bartenders at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba) created this beautiful drink in her honor.

It’s a stunning drink that is perfectly refreshing and ideal for those hot summer evenings, this speakeasy cocktail is impressive and so easy to make.

As with most cocktails, the amount of ingredients can slightly vary, depending on the preference of taste. I find the proportions given in this recipe to be balanced just right, but feel free to adjust according to your taste.

The color is a vibrant pink and looks wonderful when garnished with the fronds (leaves) of pineapple alone or get a little whimsy and add a maraschino cherry if you’d like.

Mary Pickford Cocktail Variations

The classic recipe is worth making as written at least once before you start experimenting. Once you know what you’re working with, here are a few directions worth exploring.

Swap the rum. The original calls for white rum and that’s the right call for a clean, classic result. A aged or gold rum adds a little more depth and a subtle vanilla warmth that works nicely with the pineapple. Coconut rum is a more casual, tropical take that leans into the pineapple rather than balancing it.

Fresh pineapple juice. If you have a juicer or a good blender, fresh pineapple juice makes a noticeable difference over canned. Brighter, less sweet, and more complex. Worth the extra effort for a dinner party, perfectly fine to use canned on a regular Tuesday.

Skip the maraschino liqueur. Maraschino liqueur has a distinctive cherry almond flavor that not everyone has on hand. A small amount of elderflower liqueur like St. Germain makes a floral, slightly sweeter substitute that works surprisingly well. A splash of amaretto is another option if that’s what you have.

Make it a spritz. Top the finished cocktail with a splash of Prosecco or soda water for a lighter, more effervescent version. Reduce the other ingredients slightly to account for the added volume. A good warm weather variation that stretches the recipe a little further too.

This is one of those attractive cocktails that should become a signature drink. It’s flirty yet elegant, impressive yet rather “cool” all at once. Serve up this Mary Pickford cocktail, shaken and chilled then serve it up in a martini type glass or coupe glass,

What You’ll Need:

• White rum
• Pineapple juice
• Grenadine syrup
• Pineapple fronds for garnish
• Ice
• Cocktail shaker
• Coupe or martini glass

How to Make this Porhibition Cocktail:

Step One:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add in the white rum, grenadine, pineapple juice, and maraschino liquor.

Step Two:

Shake ingredients well until chilled. Strain into glass.

Step Three:

Garnish with pineapple fronds and/or cherry and enjoy!

Other Cocktail Recipes to Try:

• Blueberry Buck Cocktail
• Scarlett O’Hara Cocktail Punch
• Bee’s Knees Cocktail
• The Pimm’s Cup
• The White Lady Cocktail

Or check out our compilation of the best 18 Recipes to Mix at Home here to know what other cocktail recipes you can dish out!

How to Make the Mary Pickford Cocktail:

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