The Daiquiri

[Rafa]

Haven't had Havana Club yet, sadly, but I agree on all other counts. Don Q is what I was reared on, but while perfectly inoffensive it's also rather flavorless, like a nice enough vodka with some rum around the edges. I find that Plantation 5, though a Bajan rum, does nicely when amber Cuban rums are called for; I tried it side by side with Brugal Extra Viejo and found it smoother, better-integrated, and just as flavorful.

Eta: I haven't tried it yet, but Caña Brava, a rum distilled in Panama by a veteran of the Cuban rum industry, is supposed to be a very good Cuban-style white rum and the closest thing to HC Añejo we can get (legally) in the states. It's produced by The 86 Co, the industry heavyweights (Jason Kosmas, Simon Ford, Dushan Zaric) behind Fords Gin, Tequila Cabeza, and Aylesbury Duck Vodka.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[Hassouni]

I'm sure someone in New York has some under-the-table Havana Club...keep looking!

[KD1191]

I'm sure someone in New York has some under-the-table Havana Club...keep looking!

Having tried HC blanco and Caña Brava side by side (perhaps in my kitchen), I will confirm that they are quite similar. Though, my wife, who is the bigger rum drinker & huge HC fan, does not care for the Caña Brava, claiming it has some additional funk that she finds off-putting.

[Hassouni]

mmm funk

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight I mixed up a meyer lemon daiquiri with Barbancourt 5 star. Not the best. Barbancourt 5 star is nice for sipping but I haven't found anything with which it mixes all that well. Busted Barrel is still my go to rum for Daiquiris. Really would like a second Daiquiri, but must resist.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

As an experiment I made another meyer lemon daiquiri (forgive the tragic lack of limes) but with Clement VSOP in place of Barbancourt this time. Better, I believe. I'm not sure how this compares to a Busted Barrel daiquiri, since I have not tried a meyer lemon version with Busted Barrel. However I note Busted Barrel is about half the price of Clement VSOP.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

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

Ever willing to experiment, tonight I looked at Dilford's site and tried:

2 1/2 oz Clement VSOP (which I think qualifies as a grassy rum)

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz Small Hand syrup

I gave the ice-filled Baron a thorough shake and there was enough liquid to dangerously fill my 5 oz coupe. The first sip required a steady hand. Not bad, but for me an 8:3:2 ratio works better. I'd like more lime and less syrup. But we are making fine distinctions here.

I was particularly delighted that I got a full 3/4 oz juice out of half of one small lime. Now, the question: do I save the unspent half for another day? Or do I sacrifice it for another daiquiri??

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Good results tonight. I thought about trying 2:1:1, but I chickened out. Here is what I'm having:

1 1/2 oz Barbancourt 5 star

1/2 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof

1 oz lime juice

3/4 oz syrup

Slightly too sweet, but sweet in a good way, not cloying. I think this recipe with 1/2 oz syrup would be nice. And the rums, at least in the current proportion, work well. Though as much as I like it, I can't see drinking more than one because of all the sugar.

My best is still:

2 oz Busted Barrel

3/4 oz lime juice

1/4 oz syrup

Edit: Yup, I tested. Though the first sip was a bit dry after the daiquiri above. Also (sadly) I wrung out the last of the Busted Barrel. Had to pour in a few drops of Appleton to make up the volume.

Edited December 20, 2013 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight I cut my syrup down to a teaspoon. Still plenty sweet for my taste. I wish I had the courage to try a daiquiri with no sugar at all.

[Rafa]

Try adding the simple with a dropper.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The small hand is quite viscous, sort of like tree sap, particularly getting down to the bottom of the bottle. I don't think a dropper would work.

[Hassouni]

Why not make your own syrup, that's what we all do

[KD1191]

Try adding the simple with a dropper.

And, don't stop there. Cut & juice supremes for the lime.

Edited February 16, 2014 by KD1191 (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Well, when I want simple, I make it. As I did tonight for punch. But for a daiquiri I like the little bit of added viscousity I get with gum. Maybe flavor too, but of that I am not sure. Perhaps as an experiment I'll try just adding sugar to a daiquiri, which was the original method I believe.

At least I strain my lime juice.

[haresfur]

You can add a bit of xanthan gum to your simple to improve the mouth feel.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

But if you're going to all that trouble why not use real gum arabic? Xanthan gum is not the easiest stuff to work with.

[Hassouni]

Neither is gum Arabic

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Neither is gum Arabic

True, but at least gum Arabic is traditional. And that's why I gladly pay feste to make my syrup for me.

[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

 

Either my taste buds have evolved, or I have finally seen the light. But I have now officially switched to the Difford's ratio for my Daiquiris. I've even done a side-by-side to be absolutely sure, and they are indeed better this way, with the rum front and center. The only drawback is that, with my American jigger, the measurements end up being awkward with 2 oz rum, 0.6 oz lime, 0.4 oz 2:1 syrup. (I am aiming for a total of 3 oz.) Maybe just up the rum to 2.5 oz and use bigger glasses next time...

 

First test with 2:1 demerara syrup and J.M rhum agricole.

 

 

Side-by-side with the Bartender's Choice version.

 

 

The Difford's ratio has the advantage of using less lime juice, which is very appropriate given the lime shortage in the US!

[Hassouni]

 The only drawback is that, with my American jigger, the measurements end up being awkward with 2 oz rum, 0.6 oz lime, 0.4 oz 2:1 syrup. (I am aiming for a total of 3 oz.) Maybe just up the rum to 2.5 oz and use bigger glasses next time...

 

 

Yeah, I have 5.5 oz glasses now, and really 3.5 oz is the most I can get away with. That being said, half an ounce of 2:1 syrup is a LOT! If the stories about Constante Ribailagua (sp?) are to be believed, he made a wickedly dry Daiquiri. Surely Embury would agree, also.

 

I typically go for 2 oz rum, 3/4 lime, 1/4 2:1

 

So, an 8:3:1 ratio. Next time I'll try Difford's, and see how it is, and if my glass doesn't overflow...

 

 

ETA - Difford's also calls for Bacardi, which we eGullet Spirits & Cocktails folk know to be pure rubbish.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[Hassouni]

Righto, test results in:

 

Made the 2.5:0.75:0.5 Daiquiri, with Don Q instead of Batshitcardi. It JUST fits into my 5.5 oz coupe with the tiniest gap below the rim.

 

Difford's write-up is correct, it is "perfectly balanced," with no element dominating. However, it's a bit too perfect. The half ounce of 2:1 syrup is, to my taste, as I predicted, WAY too much. This drink is bordering on Smirnoff Ice territory - the extra sugar hides the rumminess of the rum, and it blurs the lime into a generic citrus tang that never rises to prominence.

 

If I were serving a daiquiri to someone new to cocktails, or with a sweet tooth, this is what I'd make them. There is nothing offensive about it. However, I prefer a nicely tart Daiquiri, and my 8:3:1 ratio gives that - I call it "alcoholic liquid nitrogen" because by God, in my mind, that's what a Daiquiri is. Having an 8:3:1 one now, I will admit the lime is quite prominent indeed, but I suspect 8:2:1 would still come out tangy and refreshing. I'll try that ratio next time.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[haresfur]

ETA - Difford's also calls for Bacardi, which we eGullet Spirits & Cocktails folk know to be pure rubbish.

 

Pre-revolution Bacardi, aka Havana Club?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I find Difford's a tad too sweet.  Though I did just locate a lost half lime in the refrigerator.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

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. 

 

On rereading the thread I took you up on this following a so so Cointreau mai tai.  Not sure I'd call a Captain's Blood a daiquiri variation, exactly, but this is what I made:

 

3/4 oz S&C

3/4 oz Gosling's Old

1/2 oz Taylor's Falernum

1 oz lime juice

1/4 oz syrup

1 dash Angostura

 

 

Not bad but a little sweet.  Next time I would cut the falernum back to 1/4 oz.  I think I'd also leave out the Angostura altogether.  It seems out of place here.

[Hassouni]

Since we're declaring allegiances, I'm on team 2:3/4:1/4.

 

Hear hear, what!