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Daiquiri
Serves 1 Prep 3 min Cook 0 min Total 3 min

Daiquiri

White rum, fresh lime, sugar syrup: three ingredients shaken hard over ice and strained into a chilled coupe. The Cuban classic, not the slushie.

Serves 1 Prep 3 minutes Cook 0 minutes Units Rate

Overview

The original Daiquiri (named for the village near Santiago de Cuba where an American mining engineer invented it in 1898) is the platonic ideal of a three-ingredient cocktail: white rum, fresh lime juice, sugar syrup, shaken hard over ice, strained into a chilled coupe. Hemingway drank his at El Floridita in Havana in the 1940s and ordered them double-strength with grapefruit juice and no sugar; that variant is the "Hemingway Daiquiri" or "Papa Doble" and is its own drink. The classical one is the unmessed version: rum, lime, sugar, served up. Don't confuse with the blender-frozen strawberry Daiquiri that turned up in 1970s American beach bars; that's a different drink wearing the same name. The trick is balance: the 2:1:¾ ratio (rum : lime : syrup) is canon, but lime sharpness varies, so taste before serving and adjust. Garnish with a lime wheel on the rim or float a sliver of lime peel.

Ingredients

Per glass

  • 60 ml white rum (Havana Club 3-year, Bacardi Carta Blanca, Plantation 3 Stars)
  • 25 ml fresh lime juice (from 1 to 2 limes)
  • 15 ml simple syrup (1:1 sugar dissolved in water)
  • Plenty of ice cubes

To serve

  • 1 lime wheel or a thin twist of lime peel
  • A chilled coupe glass

Method

Stage 1 - Chill the coupe

  1. Place a coupe in the freezer for 10 minutes ahead, or fill with ice and water for 2 minutes then empty.

Stage 2 - Shake

  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
  2. Pour in the rum, lime juice and simple syrup.
  3. Cap and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds; the outside of the shaker will frost.

Stage 3 - Strain and serve

  1. Double-strain through a fine sieve into the chilled coupe; the double-strain catches lime pulp and small ice shards.
  2. The drink should land pale and slightly cloudy from the agitation.

Stage 4 - Garnish

  1. Either float a lime wheel on top or twist a sliver of lime peel over the surface to express the oils, then drop in.

Notes

  • Fresh lime juice, always. Same rule as the Margarita: bottled lime juice is the most common Daiquiri killer at home. Squeeze fresh.
  • Simple syrup, not granulated sugar. Granulated sugar refuses to dissolve cold; pre-make a 1:1 dissolve and keep in a bottle.
  • Shake hard. A weak shake gives an under-cold, under-diluted drink. 12 to 15 seconds of full-arm shake.
  • Adjust to your lime. Some limes are sharper than others. Taste before serving and adjust the syrup by 5 ml increments if needed.

Variations

  • Hemingway Daiquiri (Papa Doble). Double the rum, no sugar, add 10 ml fresh grapefruit juice and 5 ml maraschino liqueur. Drier, more grown-up, the version Hemingway drank.
  • Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri. Blend the standard build with 4 fresh strawberries and a generous scoop of crushed ice; serve in a wide glass with a straw. The Tex-Mex beach version; not at all the classic but worth knowing.
  • Mary Pickford. Cuban-invented Daiquiri variant named for the silent film star: replace the lime juice with pineapple juice and add a teaspoon of grenadine.
  • Aged Rum Daiquiri. Use an aged Jamaican or Barbadian rum (Appleton 12, Mount Gay XO) instead of white rum; deeper, woodier, very good.

Storage

  • Drink immediately.
  • Pre-mix rum, lime juice and syrup (no ice) in a sealed bottle for 24 hours in the fridge; shake fresh with ice per glass.
  • Don't store fully made Daiquiris; the lime oxidises and the drink goes flat.