Daiquiri

Ingredients

Drink

• 60 mlwhite rum
• 25 mllime juice, freshly squeezed
• 15 mlsugar syrup
• plenty of hard ice

Directions

1. Squeeze the lime immediately before mixing. Lime juice turns dull and faintly bitter within an hour of squeezing, and in a drink with three ingredients there is nowhere for that to hide.
2. Chill a coupe glass thoroughly, in the freezer if you have room.
3. Combine the rum, lime juice and sugar syrup in a shaker with plenty of hard ice.
4. Shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds, until the outside of the tin frosts over.
5. Shake it properly rather than politely. A daiquiri needs both the dilution and the aeration, and an under-shaken one tastes harsh and hot.
6. Double strain through a fine sieve into the chilled coupe, which keeps out the shards of ice.
7. Serve with no garnish at all, or a lime twist at most.
8. It is named for the Daiquirí iron mines near Santiago, where the engineer Jennings Cox is said to have mixed rum, lime and sugar around 1898, and El Floridita in Havana later froze it.

Technique

• The frozen daiquiri is a different drink entirely. This is the original and it is served straight up.
• Three ingredients means all three are exposed. A poor rum or bottled lime shows immediately.
• The classic ratio is eight parts rum to two lime to one sugar, which is worth adjusting to your own taste and your own limes.

Substitutions

• An aged rum for a rounder, softer drink.
• Demerara syrup in place of plain sugar syrup.

Variations

• The Hemingway daiquiri, with grapefruit and maraschino and no sugar at all.
• Frozen, blended with crushed ice, as El Floridita serves it.
• With a spoonful of strawberry or passion fruit muddled in.

History

Named for the Daiquiri iron mines near Santiago, where engineer Jennings Cox mixed rum, lime and sugar around 1898; El Floridita froze it.

Frequently asked questions

What is Daiquiri?

Daiquiri is a cocktail from Cuba: shaken rum-lime cocktail born near Santiago. Named for the Daiquiri iron mines near Santiago, where engineer Jennings Cox mixed rum, lime and sugar around 1898; El Floridita froze it.

How long does Daiquiri take to make?

Daiquiri takes 5 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Daiquiri?

Yes, within limits. An aged rum for a rounder, softer drink. Demerara syrup in place of plain sugar syrup.

What is the most important thing to get right in Daiquiri?

Shake it properly rather than politely. A daiquiri needs both the dilution and the aeration, and an under-shaken one tastes harsh and hot.