Ernest Hemingway, a famous drinker who apparently wrote a few books too, was a regular customer at the famous Havana watering hole La Floridita. Here, he enjoyed all the usual perks of a regular - his own place by the bar, a friendly relationship with the owner and head bartender, Constantino Ribalagua, and of course, his regular drink.

Hemingway had three requirements for his perfect drink: It should not be artificially sweetened with sugar or any kind of syrup, it must be ice-cold and it must be strong. It turns out that the famous Daiquiri already being served at La Floridita was pretty close to what he was after.

Removing the sugar killed the balance of the drink, so he added some maraschino liqueur as a sweetening agent, and some grapefruit juice to get the flavour just right. To get the drink cold enough, he insisted on shaking with crushed ice instead of cubed ice, and also had the drink served with ice instead of straining it.

Making the drink stronger was just a case of making it a double. This also indirectly named the drink, since the drink was actually named after Hemingway’s nickname, Papa Doble, a nickname he earned by always ordering doubles.

So that’s the theory, anyway. On to the practice.

Recipe:

2 oz. white cuban Rum
1 oz. Lime juice
1/4 oz. Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz. Grapefruit juice

Pour all ingredients over crushed ice in a shaker, and shake the hell out of it. Serve the whole mess into a double rocks glass. I doubt that Hemingway bothered with a garnish, but you can’t go wrong with a lime wheel.

You can also blend everything together in a blender.

Notes:

My first thought after trying the Papa Doble (once I managed to pry my frozen fingers from the shaker) was “this could use some sugar.” My second thought was “wow, this is cold!” After sipping on the rest of the drink, though, I think I quite like it. It is bitter, but still refreshing, in a similar way to Campari.

Alert readers will have noticed that although this is supposed to be a double, the amount of rum is the same as in a regular Daiquiri. I imagine that it should be served as twice what is in the recipe. That would be 4 ounces of rum, etc. If this is not so, and someone knows how this works, feel free to leave a comment enlightening us.

Rating:

- Makes you feel like a suicidal alcoholic in a third-world nation. But in a good way.

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.

The summer is starting to take a hold around here, and that means I’ll be wheeling out some classic summer drinks. First up, hailing from the caribbean island of Cuba, is the Mojito.

The Mojito is probably the best-known cuban drink at the moment, since it has been fashionable for a couple of years now. The unashamed use of fresh mint is one of the reasons it stays in people’s minds, and the fact that it’s an authentic drink that actual cuban people drink makes it special. This last point is why I like to keep things as close to the original as possible. For that, we need the right ingredients.

First up is the rum. It must be cuban, and should be Havana Club Añejo 3-year-old. However, there are other cuban rums you can try.

The mint must be the hierbabuena type used in Cuba (and thankfully also the most prevalent here in Spain.) This mint has wider leaves and a lighter colour than the more common spearmint, and is more fragrant.

Finally, even though most sources omit it, I have it on good faith from people who have been to Cuba that cuban bartenders add Angostura Bitters to the Mojito. The recipe I’ve sourced comes from a cuban bartender on a spanish-language mailing list, so I’m reasonably confident it’s correct.

Recipe:

1 1/2 oz. White Rum (Havana Club 3-year-old is authentic)
1/2 oz. Lime juice
3 oz. Seltzer
2 fresh mint sprigs (about 8-10 leaves)
3 drops Angostura Bitters
1 tsp Sugar

Put the sugar in a glass and add the lime juice (about half a lime’s worth). Place one of the mint sprigs in the glass and muddle the mint well with the sugar. Add a little seltzer and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the rum, the lime hull and a few ice cubes, top up with seltzer and garnish with the remaining mint sprig. Finally, add the bitters carefully to the drink, without stirring.

Notes:

One of the quintessential cuban drinks, and a cocktail standard. Very fashionable lately, it doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the best summer drinks out there, in my opinion.

Rating:

- Four stars for a classic.