The Daiquiri is one of the most popular cocktails in the world, with millions ordering it every night in bars all over the globe. But what is the history behind this iconic drink? It’s no surprise that part of this drink’s infamy comes from the hoi polloi of society’s elite taking to drinking nothing else, but where did it originate from? We uncover the history behind the Daiquiri and provide you with a few recipes to try at home too.
The History of The Daiquiri
There is no concrete source of the creation of the Daiquiri, but many believe that the cocktail was originally created by Jennings Stockton Cox who was working in the Daiquiri mines in Cuba. During the Bacardi ration following the American-Spanish war in 1898, rum was hard to come by and as such, Jennings Cox began to experiment with ways of making the rum go further. His experiments eventually turned into what we now know as the Daiquiri which has fans all over the world.
As the word started to spread about this wonderful new cocktail, the bars of Cuba were pouring them in thousands. The most notable Daiquiri drinker was Ernest Hemingway who spent a great deal of time frequenting the Cuban bars. He developed his own take on the Daiquiri which bartenders affectionately called the Papa Doble, the recipe for which you can find below. Hemingway insisted on quadruple measures any time he ordered a Daiquiri and preferred the taste of grapefruit juice in addition to lime juice. While we aren’t sure we’d be able to stand after a Papa Doble, the recipe below is a more moderate take on this supersized variation.
Daiquiri Recipes
The Classic Daiquiri Recipe
Ingredients:
- 50ml of high quality white rum
- 25ml of lime juice
- 10ml of sugar syrup and ice.
How to make your Daiquiri: Take your cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Add the rum, lime juice and sugar syrup and shake vigorously for 1 minute. To serve, dip the glass rim into some lime juice to wet, then dip the glass into some sugar to coat.
The Strawberry Daiquiri
Ingredients:
- 50ml of high quality white rum
- 25ml of lime juice, 10ml of sugar syrup
- 1 handful of very ripe strawberries and ice.
How to make your Strawberry Daiquiri: Place the strawberries into the cocktail shaker and gently crush using a pestle or the back of a spoon. Then add the ice, rum, lime juice and sugar syrup and shake well. Strain into a glass, making sure you remove all of the strawberry pulp. If you can’t get ripe strawberries, then strawberry purée will also work well for this recipe.
The Papa Doble Daiquiri
Ingredients:
- 50ml white rum,
- 15ml pink grapefruit juice
- 15ml lime juice
- 15ml maraschino liqueur
- 5ml sugar syrup and ice.
How to make your Papa Doble Daiquiri: There are two options for this recipe: on the rocks or over crushed ice. For both recipes, begin with adding all of the ingredients to the cocktail shaker and using a few cubes of ice, shake well. When straining into a glass, either pour over ice or (our recommendation) fill a glass half full of crushed ice and pour over.
There are many more Daiquiri recipes available, and you can always experiment with your own. Just remember that high-quality rum is essential and that a fruit mixer of some form is always preferable. Enjoy experimenting!
Read More:
- How to Make the Best Bellini in Town
- How to Create the Perfect Whiskey Sour
