The Daiquiri

[Danne]

I always use limejuice in my daiquiris but now some of my friends says that it should be with lemonjuice.

I defend myself by saying that lime is more common in cuba, and therefore the original recepie problably was with limejuice. So I'm right when I use limejuice..

Just wanted to check out your thoughts? Am I right or wrong?

[nikkib]

I always use limejuice in my daiquiris but now some of my friends says that it should be with lemonjuice.

I defend myself by saying that lime is more common in cuba, and therefore the original recepie problably was with limejuice. So I'm right when I use limejuice..

Just wanted to check out your thoughts? Am I right or wrong?

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lime juice is 100% correct! Google la floridita and check out their original daiquiri recipes for further proof -Happy drinking!

[ThinkingBartender]

I always use limejuice in my daiquiris but now some of my friends says that it should be with lemonjuice.

I defend myself by saying that lime is more common in cuba, and therefore the original recepie problably was with limejuice. So I'm right when I use limejuice..

Just wanted to check out your thoughts? Am I right or wrong?

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Yes, the Daiquiri is a lime juice drink.

Were your friends referring to limons, as in the Spanish spelling?

Cheers!

George

[ThinkingBartender]

Google la floridita and check out their original daiquiri recipes for further proof

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The Daiquiri was created in Santiago, and La Floridita is in Havana. So the original Daiquiri recipe can not be claimed by La Floridita. Which floridita website are you referring to, as there is a floridita website with cocktail recipes, but it is not affiliated with the bar in Havana.

The origin story of the Daiquiri also includes a member of the Bacardi family, which is good as the Daiquiri is also the original Bacardi Cocktail (Cuban style).

Cheers!

George

[slkinsey]

I was a little surprised to see that there isn't already a thread on this cocktail, so I thought I'd start one. It's a brilliant marriage of rum, lime and a little touch of sugar.

Before I get to the meat of my post, I thought I'd mention a few things:

First, the proper pronunciation is "die-kee-ree," not "dack-uh-ree."

Second, here's a nice page on the Daiquiri over at the WebtenderWiki, mostly compiled by ThinkingBartender.

From this post in the "Stomping Through the Savoy" thread.

One nifty trick I learned from Angus Winchester's Daiquiri Video is to drop the juiced lime shell into the cocktail shaker.

Interesting.

, Angus says that Constantino of La Floridita (who he says invented the drink, which I believe is not exactly an accepted fact) tossed the lime shell into the shaker, presumably to include some of the oils. I've never heard of this. Anyone else?

I actually am most fond of the Hemmingway Daiquiri, sometimes called the Hemmingway Special, which includes the addition of grapefruit juice and a touch of maraschino (but without the crushed ice as in a Papa Doble).

[thirtyoneknots]

Interesting. 

, Angus says that Constantino of La Floridita (who he says invented the drink, which I believe is not exactly an accepted fact) tossed the lime shell into the shaker, presumably to include some of the oils.  I've never heard of this.  Anyone else?

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I think he's referring to the variations with maraschino and such, not the original rum + lime + sugar. Recent discussion on the Drinkboy forums leads me to believe that the lime shell business is derived from Trader Vic's writings.

-Andy

[angusw]

Actually I say that it was "made most popular by" and not invented... there I was cringeing at the bad English...

And I know he did not toss the lime in but he in fact squeezed the limes with his fingers but in today's nanny-state world such hygeiene would be severely admonished...

Did not know about pronunciation aspect... is that how the Cubans/Spanish pronounce it? I am fighting a losing battle already to get people to pronounce BAC-ar-DI rather than ba-CAR-di...

aw

[angusw]

And is the Hemingway with grapefruit and lime and maraschino and sugar (ie addition of) or is it grapefruit instead of lime and maraschino instead of sugar?

And isn't a Papa Doble merely a blended Daiquiri sans sugar?

aw

[slkinsey]

Actually I say that it was "made most popular by" and not invented... there I was cringeing at the bad English...

And I know he did not toss the lime in but he in fact squeezed the limes with his fingers but in today's nanny-state world such hygeiene would be severely admonished...

Now you see... there's my comeuppance for not watching more closely, or at least not double checking. Very nicely done video, by the way.

Did not know about pronunciation aspect... is that how the Cubans/Spanish pronounce it? I am fighting a losing battle already to get people to pronounce BAC-ar-DI rather than ba-CAR-di...

Heh. I know what you mean. My understanding is that the Spanish pronunciation would be as I wrote it. That said, the de facto English pronunciation does seem to be "dack-uh-ree," so I imagine that fight's already lost (not that this would keep me from fighting it anyway!).

And is the Hemingway with grapefruit and lime and maraschino and sugar (ie addition of) or is it grapefruit instead of lime and maraschino instead of sugar?

And isn't a Papa Doble merely a blended Daiquiri sans sugar?

The Hemmingway I know has rum, lime, grapefruit and maraschino. The Papa Dobles is an extra-large Hemmingway blended with ice (most likely originally shaken with finely crushed ice and the whole works turned out into the glass). Some people add sugar to both if they find them too dry, and I don't think that's entirely inappropriate so long as it's not too much

[bostonapothecary]

i make mine with rum, lime, grapefruit, simple syrup, and a small spoon full of creme de cocoa....

sometimes i make them without any sugar or creme de cocoa.... but those are for me and no one else....

someone told me i should add a spoonfull of rosso antico.... maybe i will tonight.

[Chris Amirault]

Did not know about pronunciation aspect... is that how the Cubans/Spanish pronounce it? I am fighting a losing battle already to get people to pronounce BAC-ar-DI rather than ba-CAR-di...

I'd say it's a losing battle. Based on their commercials, you'll have to start with the Bacardi Corporation.

To that end, Sam, what's your pronunciation source for "daiquiri"? Is it the proper Cuban pronunciation of the town?

[slkinsey]

To that end, Sam, what's your pronunciation source for "daiquiri"? Is it the proper Cuban pronunciation of the town?

That's how you pronounce it in Spanish.

There's no vowel equivalent in Spanish for the [ae] sound (as in "cat") we use in saying "dack-uh-ree." The vowels "ai" are pronounced as a dipthong ("aye"). Also, Spanish pronunciation does not migrate unstressed middle vowels towards the neutral schwa ("uh") as we do in English, so the "i" in the middle sylable is pronounced as "ee" (in fact, all the letters "i" are pronounced as "ee") rather than "uh." That gives you "die-kee-ree" (in the International Phonetic Alphabet: ['dai-ki-ri]).

[bostonapothecary]

To that end, Sam, what's your pronunciation source for "daiquiri"? Is it the proper Cuban pronunciation of the town?

That's how you pronounce it in Spanish.

There's no vowel equivalent in Spanish for the [ae] sound (as in "cat") we use in saying "dack-uh-ree." The vowels "ai" are pronounced as a dipthong ("aye"). Also, Spanish pronunciation does not migrate unstressed middle vowels towards the neutral schwa ("uh") as we do in English, so the "i" in the middle sylable is pronounced as "ee" (in fact, all the letters "i" are pronounced as "ee") rather than "uh." That gives you "die-kee-ree" (in the International Phonetic Alphabet: ['dai-ki-ri]).

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can't you also spell it "dykaree"

or try giving them a "drakito"....

[kvltrede]

Did not know about pronunciation aspect... is that how the Cubans/Spanish pronounce it? I am fighting a losing battle already to get people to pronounce BAC-ar-DI rather than ba-CAR-di...

Heh. I know what you mean. My understanding is that the Spanish pronunciation would be as I wrote it. That said, the de facto English pronunciation does seem to be "dack-uh-ree," so I imagine that fight's already lost (not that this would keep me from fighting it anyway!).

There's an amusing column in the Chicago Sun-Times that occasionally points out the correct pronunciation of words, e.g., "Err rhymes with fur (fir) not air". That's all well and good but sometimes these notices serve only to raise a question in my mind. What I'd like to know is how long does the general populace have to mispronounce a word before the original, correct pronounciation is abandoned or considered archaic by the word police?

I learned only a few years ago that "die-kee-ree" was the correct pronounciation of "daiquiri" yet I never once in my 40+ years heard it pronounced correctly until a few months ago when I saw the Alec Guinness film Our Man in Havana. So, out of the many, many (many) times I've heard the word "daiquiri" I've heard it pronounced correctly only as many times as it is said in a movie made in 1959. Now, I'm normally the kinda guy (and the kinda cocktail geek) who's willing to fight the good fight but I find it a bit ridiculous to correct someone--or even mention in passing--as to the "correct" pronounciation of "daiquiri". If I ever make it to Cuba I'll be happy to say "die-kee-ree" but here in the good ol'U.S. of A. I'm afraid it's not only a lost cause but even a bit pretentious to make this distinction. In "my" dictionary "die-kee-ree" is listed as the second pronounciation--preferred, maybe, but archaic for sure.

Of course in "my" dictionary I've thrown in the towel on "err" too. I've erred many times when pronouncing it. I was probably in college before I learned it wasn't pronounced "air" but I doubt I've heard "err" pronounced correctly more than a couple dozen times in my life. Granted, I grew up hearing it pronounced wrong but, more often than not, it sounds to me like the person pronouncing it correctly is saying "ur" (as in "um" and "ah"). Whether that's worse or better than hearing the extremely common mispronounciation is in the ear of the beholder.

Kurt

[slkinsey]

What I'd like to know is how long does the general populace have to mispronounce a word before the original, correct pronounciation is abandoned or considered archaic by the word police?

If the word is a foreign language word, I'd say it's never inappropriate to defer to the real pronunciation (within reason, of course: "rih-goe-leh-toe" is a reasonable enough English pronunciarion of Rigoletto and there's no need go as far as "ree-goh-leyt-toh" but "jiggly" is not a reasonable enough English approximation of Gigli). All of which is to say that, even if lawyers may pronounce "voire dire" as "voyer dyer" I am still going to die a little inside each time they do, and will continue to say "vware deer."

Now, I'm normally the kinda guy (and the kinda cocktail geek) who's willing to fight the good fight but I find it a bit ridiculous to correct someone--or even mention in passing--as to the "correct" pronounciation of "daiquiri".  If I ever make it to Cuba I'll be happy to say "die-kee-ree" but here in the good ol'U.S. of A. I'm afraid it's not only a lost cause but even a bit pretentious to make this distinction.  In "my" dictionary "die-kee-ree" is listed as the second pronounciation--preferred, maybe, but archaic for sure.

Of course, plenty of people find it ridiculous and pretentious to point out that the Martini is made with gin and vermouth in due proportion instead of vodka and a sideways glance at the vermouth bottle, or that prime beef has properties that distinguish it from supermarket grade beef -- but plenty of us feel these are "fights worth fighting." So I guess that sort of thing is where you find it. Please feel free to skip over those parts in your reading of this thread.

In general, of course, I don't go around every day telling people the proper pronunciation of "daiquiri" any more than I do the pronunciation of "absinth" (hint: it's not "ab-synth") or "bolognese." Indeed, I'm known to say both "dack-uh-ree" and "ab-synth" around 50% of the time myself. But I don't think it's inappropriate to point out the correct pronunciation of the cockail's name in the context of a discussion around the minutae of the drink, including historical origins and "definitive recipe." If one is going to invoke the likes of Constantino Ribalaigua and Jennings Cox, why not mention the real pronunciation?

Anyway, that's neither here nor there. If people in America started pronouncing "Mojito" as "moe-jeye-toe" instead of "mo-hee-to" -- I'd probably mention it in passing as part of a thread on the Mojito.

Edited April 5, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[slkinsey]

i make mine with rum, lime, grapefruit, simple syrup, and a small spoon full of creme de cocoa....

There's also a recipe for a "Floridita Daiquiri" that has rum, lime, sweet vermouth, white creme de cacao and a touch of grenadine (for color?).

[limewine]

There's also a recipe for a "Floridita Daiquiri" that has rum, lime, sweet vermouth, white creme de cacao and a touch of grenadine (for color?).

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If I recall correctly, I've seen this recipe referred to simply as a "Floridita" [sans daiquiri], while the rum/lime/maraschino/sugar version has the daiquiri tag appended. I'm not at home right now so I can't back this up with a trip to the bookcase, but that's the pattern I believe emerged when I was comparing recipes, back when I became inordinately fond of both drinks.

[tim]

Sam,

I used to enjoy a well made daiquiri while sitting at a well stocked bar in a warm climate. I still remember a bartender in really classy Tijuana bar making a daiquiri from scratch and straining it into a nice stemmed glass. 1963 was a good year.

I was sad when they were made with powder and chipped ice in a blender. They they were bastardized with all sorts of fruit additions, kind of like todays margarita. I even disliked the Bacardi Cocktail.

I switched to dark rum, lime juice, falernum and ginger beer.

The Derby Daiquiri was really nice. I think it had an ounce of fresh orange juice added.

Tim

[slkinsey]

I used to enjoy a well made daiquiri while sitting at a well stocked bar in a warm climate.  I still remember a bartender in really classy Tijuana bar making a daiquiri from scratch and straining it into a nice stemmed glass.  1963 was a good year.

Very nice. I have to say that I like the Constantino Ribalaigua touch Angus mentions in his video of double straining the drink (once through the Hawthorne strainer and the second time through a fine mesh strainer) to remove any little shards of ice created by the hard shaking.

Paul: I've (mostly) seen them in print simply as "El Floridita #1" (maraschino) and "El Floridita #2" (creme de cacao) -- sometimes with, sometimes without the "El" part. In speaking, people seem to most often call them both "Floridita Daiquiri #1 or 2."

Edited April 5, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[slkinsey]

Here's one of Gary Regan's SF Chron articles on the Floridita.

"Don't suppose there's a chance of getting a Floridita Daiquiri to help me wind down, is there?"

The crew member at the bar has The Professor's full attention.

"You talking about the one with maraschino liqueur?"

"Yep. Do you need the recipe?"

The Professor shot him a look. "Straight up or frozen?"

. . .

Adding some fresh lime juice, simple syrup and a bit of maraschino liqueur to the rum and ice in his shaker, The Professor shakes and strains the drink into an ice-cold cocktail glass. Serving the drink, The Professor asks, "You ever been to the Floridita bar in Havana?"

. . .

[The Professor asks Dr. Cocktail] "What do you know about the Floridita Cocktail, the one with sweet vermouth?"

"It's a different drink entirely, but not without merit, and not without one slight similarity, too. The maraschino in the Daiquiri you just made is barely detectable, but the almond nuttiness of the liqueur is there all the same, just as it should be. In the Floridita Cocktail it's the chocolate notes of creme de cacao that lurk in the background. They're both astonishingly subtle drinks."

Edited April 5, 2007 by slkinsey (log)

[bostonapothecary]

a great article by jerry reagan.....

the floridita is something i would never put on a cocktail menu just so i could surprise people with it....

this thread turned out pretty good....

hopefully if enough people read it, i can actually go out in boston and find a bartender that now knows to make one of many great floridita versions....

i nominate the vieux carre as the next drink that needs a thread....

cheers....

[Chris Amirault]

There is much work to do on this subject. For example: what rum?

A friend brought us two small limes from her tree in LA, and thus I made an "equal parts" Daiquiri tonight, finding a very good balance with the r(h)ums:

3/4 oz Appleton 12 rum

3/4 oz La Favorite blanc rhum agricole

3/4 oz demerara 2:1 syrup

3/4 oz lime

[Kent Wang]

I, too, only learned about the proper pronunciation from Our Man in Havana. But it seems to me it's more die-ke-ree, with a short ke sound?

I'm forced to use lemons here much of the time as it's quite difficult to find limes.

[Chris Amirault]

No limes?!? When are you moving?

[Dan Perrigan]

There is much work to do on this subject. For example: what rum?

The first Daiquiri I had was made with Matusalem Platino. Consequently, if it's made with anything else now it just doesn't taste like a Daiquiri to me. Funny how first impressions last forever.

Dan