COCKTAIL 101: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DAIQUIRI

“Don’t bother with churches, government buildings or city squares. If you want to know about a culture, spend a night in its bars” – Ernest Hemingway

The Daiquiri:

A measure of rum, some lime juice, half a teaspoon of sugar, crushed ice, all shaken vigorously together until blended into frothy frostiness, and you have yourself some fine company. One of the quintessential rum cocktails, a classic daiquiri is a deceptively simple thing; so simple that many bartenders consider mastering one an ultimate test of their skills.

In his seminal 1948 guide, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David A. Embury ranked the drink as one of the six basic cocktails, alongside such classics as the Martini, Manhattan and Old Fashioned. The daiquiri, he wrote, "is a cocktail that is difficult to improve upon. It is dry, yet smooth. The reaction time is short."

The origins behind the daiquiri creation are somewhat contentious. Some believe that the cocktail was created by way back in 1896 by an American engineer, Jennings Cox, who lived in Cuba at the time and was overseeing the mines near the town of Daiquiri. He's thought to have created the infamous cocktail after running out of gin whilst throwing his very own cocktail party. Making do with the ingredients he had at hand – rum, lime and sugar – this became the base of the drink we know today.

Other cocktail experts trace the modern iteration of the daiquiri back to a bar in Havana, known as La Florida (known affectionately by locals as El Floridita). Known as the ‘Cradle of the Daiquiri,’ the bar quickly became home to some of the finest cantineros (bartenders) in the country. The glamour of the establishment, quality of the cocktails and attendance of high-society Americans escaping Prohibition in the USA, helped El Floridita gain the reputation as the ‘greatest bar on Earth.’ Constante Ribalagua Vert, who took over from the bar’s previous owners, is considered by many to be the father of the modern daiquiri. His Damascene moment was to add crushed ice, provided by the granita machine – the perfect antidote to the sweltering heat.

Classic Daiquiri

A golden oldie, the daiquiri is one of the simplest cocktails out there to make and also easy to put your own twist on.

Ingredients:

50ml The Duppy Share Aged

20ml Lime Juice

10ml Sugar Syrup

Method:

Shaker all of your ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a citrus zest. 

Hemingway Daiquiri

As mentioned before, the daiquiri really came to life in a small bar in Havana, as bartender Constantino Ribalaigua Vert added his own flare and used shaved ice to create the frozen daiquiri. Around this time Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Cuba, tried the delicious cocktail, fell in love with this epic concoction and became a regular customer - he even managed to get the "E. Hemingway Special" a permanent spot on the menu. He apparently preferred double the rum, minus the sugar (he was diabetic) hence the cocktail's nickname "Papa Doble" ... now that's a true rum lover. The recipe adapted over time to include various other fruity flavours, so give the recipe below a try and channel your inner Hemingway.

Ingredients:

50ml The Duppy Share Aged 

15ml Grapefruit Juice

15ml Maraschino Liqueur 

20ml Lime Juice

20ml Sugar syrup

Method:

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Strain into a coupe and garnish with a wheel of lime.

The Hemingway Daiquiri is in honour of Father's Day, so whilst you guys whip up this banging cocktail we want to encourage you all to share the rum love with your dads. This Father's Day we are all about sharing stories and making memories with loves ones, and soaking up the words of wisdom given to us by our papa's. So keep sharing the rum love Duppies and make sure you tag us in your epic photos @theduppyshare on Instagram and Facebook.