Cocktail Recipe: Daiquiri

A lot of work goes into building a proper cocktail – from juicing, garnishing, carbonating, stirring, and shaking to choosing to correct ice for proper chilling and dilution of a drink. Jeffrey Morgenthaler recognizes the importance of technique behind the bar. He is currently bar manager at Portland’s beloved Clyde Common. His latest The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique will guide you to better looking and tasting cocktails. This recipe comes from his book.

DAIQUIRI NO. 3

By Constantino Ribalaigua Vert

MAKES 1 DRINK

At the Floridita bar in Havana, Cuba, in the 1930s and 1940s, the daiquiri was king, and an extensive daiquiri menu was developed there, due in large part to bartenders like Constantino Ribalaigua Vert. His famed Daiquiri No. 3 was consumed in massive quantities by Ernest Hemingway, though he took his “without sugar and double the rum,” which became the legendary Hemingway, or Papa doble, daiquiri. Personally, I find the Hemingway daiquiri repulsive and instead prefer Constante’s original.

2 oz/60 ml white rum

1⁄2 oz/15 ml 2:1 simple syrup (see separate recipe)

1⁄2 oz/15 ml fresh lime juice

1⁄4 oz/7.5 ml grapefruit juice

1 tsp/5 ml maraschino liqueur, preferably Luxardo

Ice cubes for shaking

Crushed ice for serving

1 lime wedge for garnish

OLD-FASHIONED GLASS

Combine the rum, simple syrup, lime juice, grapefruit juice, and maraschino liqueur in a cocktail shaker or mixing glass. Shake with ice cubes and strain over the old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with the lime wedge and serve with a straw.