Daiquiri

Following on from the other day’s Mojito, I’ll be bringing out a few cuban classics during the next few days (a post by Keith Waldbauer gave me the idea). Today’s drink is the Daiquiri.

There is a story behind the Daiquiri which is treated as history within Cuba, but met with skepticism elsewhere. According to legend, and corroborated by cuban historian Fernando G. Campoamor, the Daiquiri came about in 1899 when a Captain Cox of the US Army was visiting the manager of a mine in the town of Daiquirí, in eastern Cuba. The heat was such, that they had to do something about it.

Since they weren’t in a bar, they had to make do with what they had on hand. This turned out to be rum, lime juice and sugar, along with plenty of ice. They mixed all this up in a shaker, and decided that this fantastic new drink needed a name. They didn’t think too hard, and gave the drink the name of the town they were in. This is how the drink was born.

From here, the recipe spread to the bars of Havana, where it was made popular in the mythical Floridita bar.

That is the legend. The fact is that it is disputed because, although there is some specific data about the creation (date, place, a name), it is still difficult to confirm any of it. Also, it seems unlikely that such a simple recipe can be traced to a single source, especially since sailors had been combining rum with lime juice for a couple of hundred years by the given date.

It doesn’t really matter, of course. The drink is a damn good one, and the story can be told with as many embellishments as you feel necessary in order to entertain your audience and seem learned.

Recipe:

2 oz. White Cuban Rum
1 oz. Lime Juice
1 tsp Sugar

Mix everything well in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice until it is very, very cold and serve in a cocktail glass garnished with a lime wheel.

Notes:

How can you argue with this? The Daiquiri’s fame for being extremely refreshing is well earned, and that makes it an essential summer drink.

It’s important to remember that not all limes are created equal, so you may want to adjust the quantity of lime juice to your taste.

Rating:

- A necessary addition to your arsenal.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 1st, 2007 at 11:30 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.