The Daiquiri

[Plantes Vertes]

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?).

 

Hear hear, what!

 

I also like my women this way. And I like my daiquiris this way.

[Adam George]

English Diffords Measurements:

 

50ml

15ml

10ml

 

Not too big a drink.

[FrogPrincesse]

Total 75 mL = ~ 2.5 oz

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight I was aiming for 2:3/4:1/4, which I have previously mentioned is my favorite.  However thanks to a kind half lime, I ended up with an ounce of juice, and I was not about to waste it:

 

2 oz W&N

1 oz lime juice

1/4 oz syrup

 

 

This may be my new favorite daiquiri!  I didn't find that this much lime overpowered the rum at all.

[lesliec]

Hard to imagine many things overpowering Wray & Nephew!

[brinza]

I suspect 8:2:1 would still come out tangy and refreshing. I'll try that ratio next time.

That is David Embury's recommended ratio for sours and it works quite well.  I could never seem to get a Jack Rose to taste right until I used this ratio.  (But don't use Don Q unless you want a Kamizake instead of a Daiquiri!).

[Hassouni]

Don Q is not my default white rum, I just had a bunch of it leftover from an event. I'm jealously hoarding my bottle and a half of Palo Viejo...

 

For those without access to Boriken's finest, Flor de Caña is my rum of choice.

[Hassouni]

Ladies and gentlemen:

 

8:2:1 is a winner. Yes, it's more tart than sweet, but everything is in relative harmony. I might go so far as to say 8:2.5:1 is my ideal, but I think this is my new default ratio, unless it's a really hot day and I need the extra bite that 8:3:1 gives - but in either case, the 8 parts rum to 1 part 2:1 SS is where it's at.

 

Of course, this was all with Don Q, which brinza rightly pointed out as not being the best stuff to use, but since the first two were done with it, the third had to be as well, for consistency's sake.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[brinza]

Ladies and gentlemen:

 

8:2:1 is a winner. Yes, it's more tart than sweet, but everything is in relative harmony. I might go so far as to say 8:2.5:1 is my ideal, but I think this is my new default ratio, unless it's a really hot day and I need the extra bite that 8:3:1 gives - but in either case, the 8 parts rum to 1 part 2:1 SS is where it's at.

 

Of course, this was all with Don Q, which brinza rightly pointed out as not being the best stuff to use, but since the first two were done with it, the third had to be as well, for consistency's sake.

The thinking behind Embury's ratio for sours is to ensure that you still taste the spirit.  He referred to the other ingredients as "modifiers" which I think is very telling.  His idea was that the liquor is what you're really drinking, so for a cocktail, you just want to augment it slightly, not obliterate it.  I don't think David Embury drank a lot of tiki drinks.

[Hassouni]

I agree with that philosophy for the most part, especially if using something better than Don Q. After all, isn't a basic daiquiri the way many people test out new rums?

 

Speaking of Tiki, even the Mai Tai was created to showcase a rum, not hide it.

[brinza]

I agree with that philosophy for the most part, especially if using something better than Don Q. After all, isn't a basic daiquiri the way many people test out new rums?

Yes, it is.

Speaking of Tiki, even the Mai Tai was created to showcase a rum, not hide it.

True (I was being facetious about Embury because he probably looked down his nose at most of the juice-laden tropical punches). And when you look at a lot of tiki recipes, it becomes apparent that the Daiquiri is the kernel of many of them.

[Adam George]

Embury favoured Cuban rums and even went as far as to say Jamaican rums were best as modifiers and accents.

[Hassouni]

Well, quite, but for those of us misfortunate enough to be stuck here in Yankeestan, the products of our hopefully soon to be 51st State are a decent substitute (along with a certain Flor de Something from Nicaragua)

[chefmd]

Made proper daiquiri for the first time, thanks to this forum.  Oh my god, what a revelation.  Nothing in common with sugary artificial concoction that should not share the same name!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Well, please tell us how you made it!

[Hassouni]

Welcome to a whole new world!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight I have been assaying, for the very first time, the concept of the Hemingway daiquiri.  My first experiment was:

 

1 oz W&N

1 oz Busted Barrel

3/4 oz lime juice

1/4 oz white grapefruit juice (while I still have white grapefruits)

1 teaspoon Maraschino

1 teaspoon syrup

 

 

Shaken and served up.  Rather nice, and I was inspired to continue:

 

2 oz W&N

1 oz lime juice

1/4 oz white grapefruit juice

1/2 oz Maraschino

 

 

No syrup.  Again, shaken and served up.  My first strainer went on the floor.  The next strainer that I grabbed, while much faster than my finest strainer, was still quite slow.  Felt a bit like Wile E. Coyote as I watched the glass overflow in slow motion, and then got daiquiri on my nose.

 

A little tart but very nice.  I may try 3/4 ounce Maraschino...though perhaps not tonight.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

OK, I compromised:

 

2 oz W&N

1/2 oz lime juice (I could not bring myself to cut into another lime)

1/2 oz white grapefruit juice (use it or lose it)

3/4 oz Maraschino

 

 

Best of the evening.  W&N goes particularly well with Maraschino.  Has anyone else noticed the bottles, except for color, have exactly the same cap??  I would hope Hemingway would be proud.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

The nice thing about daiquiris, contrasted with, say, mai tais or zombies, is that one can perform several experiments in one evening.  And still write about the results.  (Except that I have the hiccups.)  I've been going back and forth between Cana Brava and Neisson Blanc, two delightful yet very different spirits.

 

Now that I'm warmed up, I am enjoying a Hemingway daiquiri made with Neisson Blanc:

 

2 oz Neisson Blanc

3/4 oz Maraschino

4 teaspoons lime juice

1/2 oz white grapefruit juice

 

 

O is this good!  Sadly I have a case and a half of slowly rotting white grapefruit and there won't be any more white grapefruit till next winter.  It will be a long hot summer.

 

I'd have to say this daiquiri is just about perfect.

[ChrisTaylor]

Couldn't you freeze the juice in perfect portions?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Yes, if I had freezer space.  I hope to get a new freezer some time this year but it is a major purchase.

 

Meanwhile I have replicated my daiquiri results.  I am trying to think of superlatives.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Another Hemingway made with Neisson Blanc.  The proportions may have been off a bit because while squeezing the white grapefruit I spilled the lime juice on the floor.  (Zombies can do that to you.)  I'm just glad it is this month and not last month.

 

Still wonderful.

[FrogPrincesse]

I had a Daiquiri with Neisson blanc a couple of days ago. Difford's 10:3:2 ratio. That might be perfection.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I had a Daiquiri with Neisson blanc a couple of days ago. Difford's 10:3:2 ratio. That might be perfection.

 

 

This is my libation for tonight.  Very nice though I normally favor 8:2:1 (not to mention 8:2:1 needing far fewer fingers).  However immediately prior to my imbibation I was immersed (rather literally) in the mellifluent fructitude of two all but liquid mangos.  Following that experience an 8:2:1 daiquiri might have seemed a little tart.

[Hassouni]

(not to mention 8:2:1 needing far fewer fingers)

 

?