Daiquiri, or Daiquir&iacute (which is the Cuban spelling of the word), is a family of cocktails whose main ingredients are rum and lime juice. There are several versions, but those that gained international fame are the ones made in one of the most famous bars in the world: the Floridita , in Havana.

The name Daiquir&iacute is also the name of a beach near Santiago, Cuba, and a iron mine in that area. It is said that the cocktail was invented by an engineer that worked in that very mine, which explains the origin of the cocktail's name.

Daiquiri Natural

Daiquir&iacute Natural is the basic mix, that serves as the starting point to the more complex cocktails of the family:

• 1,3 oz light-dry (rum)
• 0,7 oz lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• crushed ice

Mix the ingredients in a shaker and serve.

Daiquiri Floridita

This is the most common and famous version of this cocktail, allegedly it was invented by Constantino Ribalaigua Vert, barman and owner of the Floridita in the 1950s, whom Ernest Hemingway nicknamed El grande Constante. This recipe is also known as Daiquirí Frappè.

• 1,5 oz light-dry (rum)
• the juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• crushed ice
• 10 drops of Maraschino liqueur

Mix all the ingredients in a blender until ice is finely crushed and serve iced.

Other versions

Papa's is the version of the cocktail that Hemingway allegedly preferred (Papa is the nickname that fishermen gave Hemingway in Cuba), is identical to the Floridita Daiquiri, it only substitutes lime juice with grapefruit juice. It is said that Hemingway drank this cocktail with no sugar and doubled the rum.

Mulata is the same cocktail as the Floridita Daiquiri, but instead of light-dry rum (which is colorless) it requires aged rum, which gives the cocktail an amber color.

Other versions, which did not originate in the Floridita, are also common in bars worldwide, such as Banana daiquiri and Strawberry daiquiri .

Frozen daiquiris

A wide variety of alcoholic drinks made with finely pulverized ice are often called "frozen daiquiris". Although to purists most of these are not true daiquiris at all, use of this term to describe these drinks is common, especially around the U.S. Gulf Coast. Such drinks are often commercially made in machines which produce a texture similar to a smoothie, and come in a wide variety of flavors made with various alcohol or liquors.

See also

• list of cocktails