The Daiquiri

[haresfur]

I was bequeathed a bucket of grapefruit so I used my last lime for a Hemingway Daiquiri using the Kindred Cocktail ratios with 1/4 oz. simple and Cuban rum. I could really notice the maraschino at first but it faded into the background. I didn't think it tasted very boozy for the 2 oz of rum so I expect these could be dangerous on a hot day.

[ChrisTaylor]

Oh yeah. Gets to the point where slicing limes is a serious OH&S minefield.

[Plantes Vertes]

We had some more Hemingway Daiquiris the other day, because hell, this is a scorching summer in the Caribbean after all.

3oz Havana Club

1oz grapefruit juice

1oz lime juice

3/4oz Luxardo Maraschino

Cooking hazard.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

If I had a Daiquiri glass you'd have convinced me to try a Daiquiri.

[haresfur]

If I had a Daiquiri glass you'd have convinced me to try a Daiquiri.

A coffee mug works.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

If I had a Daiquiri glass you'd have convinced me to try a Daiquiri.

A coffee mug works.

Maybe, but, well, now -- thanks to replacements.com -- I have a proper Daiquiri vessel. Call me a Daiquiri virgin, a Daiquiri (however you pronounce it) has never before passed my lips.

For my first Daiquiri I took an idea from Rafa, but I confess it was a hard day and my reading comprehension suffered. Rafa called for 1/2 oz W&N Overproof. I somehow saw that as 1 oz. Plus the W&N pouring top thingy messed me up, so the final result was more like:

1 oz Barbancourt 5 star

1 1/4 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof

3/4 lime juice

1/4 oz syrup

And it looks so pretty! After shaking I had 4 oz liquid which just fit nicely in my new (previously owned) 5 oz coupe. I think the drink would have been even better had I properly read the recipe. However I can't complain it's weak. (And if I didn't mention, it's my first time.)

By the way, I notice Dale Degroff in Craft of the Cocktail calls for 1 oz of syrup to 1 1/2 oz of rum. What's up with that? I would find that much sugar hard to get down, I think. For the Daiquiri is there such a thing as an original recipe?

Edit: it seems the drink is even better after it has warmed up a bit. The wonderful flavors are more distinct and the rich sweetness of the syrup lingers. (I use feste's gomme, which in my opinion works much better here than in a mai tai.) I could learn to like this.

Edited November 23, 2013 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[Rafa]

There's no One True Recipe for the Daiquiri—it's just rum, and lime, and sugar, a combination which dozens of people must have come up with independently of each other. What there are is shifting tastes, and bartenders equipped to accommodate them. . During DeGroff's formative years the "Daiquiri" was something slushy served with strawberry, and sour mix, and a bit of rum. He had to work hard to restore the drink to its former dignity. It's no wonder his recipe calls for a bit more sugar than more contemporary specs; he was dealing with a very different and more difficult clientele.

Personally, I like the sugar on the low side, finding a dry Daiquiri an excellent showcase for a rum (or group of rums), and one of the most refreshing beverages in the world. But if someone asks me for a sweet Daiquiri I'll happily oblige them, and still find it a worthy drink.

[Plantes Vertes]

Today I had a Dark Daiquiri.

2oz Flor de Cana 7

1/2oz lime juice

1/2oz Demerara syrup

In fact this was not a good use of this rum, which has a vanilla-cinnamon-brown sugar flavour that did not get along with a harsh sour lime and was totally overpowered.

[Adam George]

There's no One True Recipe for the Daiquiri.

Yes there is:

10:3:2

With a good, grassy Latin style white rum and 2:1 golden sugar syrup.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight's is:

2 oz Busted Barrel (whose web domain I notice has expired)

3/4 lime juice

1/4 oz syrup

This is very nice indeed. In comparison my previous W&N Daiquiri concoction was too strong and funky. And I hope my head will thank me. Indeed, except for the buttery, brown sugar notes, I'm not sure I could tell there is alcohol in this.

In the book And a Bottle of Rum, Wayne Curtis quotes Lucius W. Johnson describing the drink Jennings Cox made for him in 1909:

"He mixed in each glass a jigger of rum, the juice of half a lime, and a teaspoon of sugar. He then filled the glass with finely shaved ice and stirred it well."

Busted Barrel works so well for this. I hope letting their domain expire was a small oversight and not indicative of worse.

[Hassouni]

That's the ratio I typically use, Jo - but I feel that for maximum impact, a real Cuban style light rum is called for - when made that way, I refer to the daiquiri as "alcoholic liquid nitrogen".

[FrogPrincesse]

There's no One True Recipe for the Daiquiri.

Yes there is:

10:3:2

With a good, grassy Latin style white rum and 2:1 golden sugar syrup.

10:3:2, Difford's ratio, which corresponds to:

2 1/2 oz rum

3/4 oz lime juice

1/2 oz 2:1 syrup

I prefer to make daiquiris with white rhum agricole and go heavier on the lime. Also I use regular simple syrup because I always have it handy. Something like this:

2 oz rum

1 oz lime juice

3/4 oz simple syrup

[Rafa]

Since we're declaring allegiances, I'm on team 2:3/4:1/4. I like mine dry and icy (just like, uh, my women?). Favorite Daiquiri rums include La Favorite Blanc, El Dorado 3 Year and 5 Year, Flor de Caña Extra Dry, Smith & Cross, and that W&N/Barbancourt 5 Star combo. Sometimes a richer balance is nice, especially with a rum like one of the older Appletons, but when going in that direction one might as well go all the way to a Captain's Blood (with or without falernum) or a Navy Dock Daiquiri.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Since we're declaring allegiances, I'm on team 2:3/4:1/4. I like mine dry and icy (just like, uh, my women?).

You are using 2:1 syrup, right?

[Rafa]

Not usually, but it depends on the rum and my mood. I don't think a Smith & Cross Daiquiri would be palatable with only a 1/4 oz of 1:1 simple, for example.

Edit: I don't think a Daiquiri with just a quarter ounce of 1:1 simple is overly tart, usually, just bracingly dry.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Could anyone knowledgeable about such things estimate what the sugar ratio is for feste's syrup, since that is what I'm using?

http://smallhandfoods.com/store/index.php/syrups/gum-syrup

[Hassouni]

Since we're declaring allegiances, I'm on team 2:3/4:1/4. I like mine dry and icy (just like, uh, my women?). Favorite Daiquiri rums include La Favorite Blanc, El Dorado 3 Year and 5 Year, Flor de Caña Extra Dry, Smith & Cross, and that W&N/Barbancourt 5 Star combo. Sometimes a richer balance is nice, especially with a rum like one of the older Appletons, but when going in that direction one might as well go all the way to a Captain's Blood (with or without falernum) or a Navy Dock Daiquiri.

True to your Borinqueño roots, have you tried a Daiquiri with Palo Viejo blanco? It's damn good. PV sells for about $8-9 in PR, but I haven't seen it sold retail anywhere on the mainland. However, here's a link in NY state: http://www.getwineonline.com/sku03722_PALO-VIEJO-RUM-WHITE-80@-750ML

[Rafa]

Since we're declaring allegiances, I'm on team 2:3/4:1/4. I like mine dry and icy (just like, uh, my women?). Favorite Daiquiri rums include La Favorite Blanc, El Dorado 3 Year and 5 Year, Flor de Caña Extra Dry, Smith & Cross, and that W&N/Barbancourt 5 Star combo. Sometimes a richer balance is nice, especially with a rum like one of the older Appletons, but when going in that direction one might as well go all the way to a Captain's Blood (with or without falernum) or a Navy Dock Daiquiri.

True to your Borinqueño roots, have you tried a Daiquiri with Palo Viejo blanco? It's damn good. PV sells for about $8-9 in PR, but I haven't seen it sold retail anywhere on the mainland. However, here's a link in NY state: http://www.getwineonline.com/sku03722_PALO-VIEJO-RUM-WHITE-80@-750ML

I haven't had Palo Viejo since I left PR for the states when I was 18, at which age I thought a "Daiquiri" was something slushy with fake fruit and my preferred rum drink was a Don Q and Coke. Next time I'm visiting family I'm going to have to buy a bottle and try it out in a Daq. I have both of the Barrilitos at home and those are my go-tos when I feel a tinge of Borinqueño pride.

Glad to know you're familiar with our humble homeland and its rums!

[Hassouni]

Your humble homeland rocked my socks. Don Q Cristal is pretty generic, Palo Viejo has a more noticeable molasses taste. I bought a few bottles while I was there and it's my go-to "white Cuban" style rum (I also picked up some Barrilito Tres Estrellas, of course!)

Edited November 25, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[EvergreenDan]

Could anyone knowledgeable about such things estimate what the sugar ratio is for feste's syrup, since that is what I'm using?

??

Or is Marshall Matt Dillon's sidekick making syrup now?

[FrogPrincesse]

Dan - Jennifer Colliau (eG member feste) sells various syrups, including a gum syrup, at small hand foods.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

That's the ratio I typically use, Jo - but I feel that for maximum impact, a real Cuban style light rum is called for - when made that way, I refer to the daiquiri as "alcoholic liquid nitrogen".

What exactly is Cuban style light rum? I'm thinking Busted Barrel must be fairly close.

[Hassouni]

column distilled, light in taste, some molasses notes but not too much, with enough of a bite to be felt in drinks (for the good rums, anyway)

[Rafa]

Examples include Havana Club (of course), Flor de Caña, Cruzan, Santa Teresa, Brugal, the better Puerto Rican rums, classic Bacardi, and some would say contemporary Bacardi, though that's another bottle of worms. Sometimes also called Spanish-style rum, to distinguish it from English-style (pot still, heavier body, strong molasses flavors, hogo) and French style (fresh cane juice rums), though not every rum produced in French-, English-, or Spanish-speaking countries corresponds to its regional style, nor do these categories encapsulate every possible or existing rum. Rum resists easy categorization. It goes against its pirate nature.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[Hassouni]

Havana Club is the gold standard - Añejo blanco and añejo 3 años are the rums to use when light is called for. I find Cruzan has gone downhill fast, with Brugal and FdC being the most easily available good options, with FdC having a slight edge. Don Q Cristal is OK and relatively ubiquitous, better than Bacardi, but I think the previous two are better.