Making Classic Cocktails at Home #4: Daiquiri

The fourth entry in the series where my wife Sabrina and I journey through the wide wonderful world of classic cocktails by crafting and drinking recipes together at our home bar. Today let’s get our lime on with the simple and brilliant Daiquiri!

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Recipe:

• 2 oz. Plantation/Planteray 3 Star Rum
• 3/4 oz Fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz Simple syrup
• 1 Lime wedge (garnish)

Add all liquids to a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake until cold, 15 to 20 seconds or so, and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lime wedge.

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Intro:

Ahh, the daiquiri. A core cocktail that has seen so many mutations and reinterpretations over the years that many folks are surprised to learn that the “true” recipe for a daiquiri is simply rum, lime, and sugar. A far cry from one of those sugary iced slushies with a color brighter than an 80’s Maui & Sons t-shirt, infinitely swirling in a machine on the back wall of a beach bar next to a hundred other similar machines brewing up disconcerting flavor combos from fruits that may not be native to this planet and with awkward party names like “Ass Boat” and “Sex Salad” probably.  

No shade on these non-traditional cartoony daiquiris, though, because while they may be crude simulations, they’re also totally awesome. Whenever Sab and I visit Savannah, GA, our first stop is the Wet Willies so we can suck down a 151 Octane in a styrofoam cup while we people watch in the town square. 

But yes, the traditional version of the daiquiri is quite the opposite. It’s a study in refinement. The three ingredients complement each other so well, forming a drink that is so fresh and such a perfect balance of sweet and sour that you’ll swear there’s more to it. But you’d be wrong as usual, you presumptuous son of a bitch. 

Like most cocktails, there are multiple origin stories for the daiquiri, but the prevailing one is that a dude named Jennings Cox, an American mining engineer, invented the drink in Cuba in the late 1890s and presumably named it after the nearby Daiquiri Beach. The drink gained popularity over the years, getting a PR boost from notable fans like Ernest Hemingway and President Kennedy. And then years later, during the glorious 80s, it gained a renewed popularity/notoriety as the blender-based frozen version that has since graced so many plastic-covered TJI Friday’s drink menus, daring you to just say fuck it man and order that mango berry frozen sugar bomb to pair with your sampler platter. You only live once. 

Recipe Rationale:

The recipe I posted above uses proportions specified for the “Daiquiri No. 1” in Martin Cate’s masterpiece tome of all things Tiki, “Smuggler’s Cove.”  We tried another version where we dialed up both the lime juice and the simple syrup by a ¼ oz, but it didn’t compete with the one in Cate’s book. When it comes to rum drinks, you’re not going to go wrong using “Smugglers Cove” as your main source. I highly recommend it – great recipes and an enchanting deep dive into the world of Tiki.

Plantation/Planteray 3 Star Rum – This was one of a handful of blended lightly-aged rums that Cate recommends for his daiquiri. I already had it in my liquor cabinet, probably for another recipe from Smugglers Cove.  It’s a good one and worked great here.

Fresh lime juice – Fresh is critical for this drink. Imperative that you squeeze your own lime juice. Get yourself a handheld squeezer if you don’t have one (this one works well).

Simple syrup – I’d recommend taking the extra time to make your own simple syrup and keep a squeeze bottle of it on hand in the fridge.  We followed Cate’s instructions for a demerara syrup that uses a mix of both demerara and granulated sugar, but I think you’d do fine with a simple 2-1 sugar to water combo.  

Verdict:

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