Classic Cocktails: Diving into a Daiquiri

A cocktail created in Cuba but destined for bar menus the world over. They say less is more, and that is true with this drink as well. A humble three ingredient cocktail that we are talking about more than a century after its’ creation is definitely worth looking into.

An American working in Cuba first created the drink we now know as the original daiquiri in 1898.   The drink first migrated into the US in 1909 when it was served at the Army and Navy club in Washington DC. Over the last hundred years or so the cocktail has been toyed with by many a bartender, and is also a good test of any good bartender to prove their cocktail worth.

A cocktail is, or was at one time, defined as having only three ingredients, and the original daiquiri fits that description. With the blending of white rum, lime juice and simple syrup (or sugar) a great bartender can make this drink come alive and sing with notes of all three ingredients. Having only these ingredients it is hard to mask a poorly built drink; the sugar has some play room, but too much lime juice can spell disaster. For that main reason it was, and in some places still is a practical test for new bartenders.

Ingredients:

2 oz. white rum

1 oz. lime juice

1 ¼ oz. simple syrup

Directions:

Add all ingredients into a shaker tin with ice.

Shake thoroughly and double strain into a coupe glass.

Garnish with a lime wheel, floating or on the rim.

The daiquiri is arguably the classic cocktail when it comes to rum. No tiki drink, or rum and coke can stand up to the balanced complexity of a well-crafted daiquiri. Hemingway drank doubles, how would you prefer yours?