Time for a Drink: Daiquiri
Let's start the weekend right—with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one? That kinda week, eh? Here you go. Cheers!
Two things you’ll probably notice about this daiquiri:
1. It’s not frozen.
2. It’s not laden down with strawberries, bananas, mangoes or what have you.
No, this is the daiquiri at its purest, its original, its most authentic. True, there are perfectly tasty variations on this theme (we’ll ignore the flavored glop that you see tourists gulping from bucket-size go cups on Bourbon Street), and a frozen daiquiri, made with all due attention and respect, is not a bad thing.
But an old-school daiquiri is an exercise in purity, as beautiful in its unadorned simplicity as a well-made martini or Manhattan. Of course, "well made" is a big factor here, as well: to fully realize the daiquiri’s inherent beauty, be sure to measure your ingredients; free-pouring, while easier and cooler-looking than eyeballing a measuring cup, frequently leaves you with an odd-tasting drink. And while you can mix the daiquiri with different rums or in one of its fruit-enhanced variations, the use of fresh lime juice is absolutely essential; those little green plastic limes and day-glo bottles of Rose’s should stay as far from your daiquiri as possible.
The daiquiri achieved timeless-classic status for a reason; take a moment this weekend to see what all the original fuss was about.
About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
Daquiri
Ingredients
2 ounces light rum (you can also use gold rum, but dark rum can be too heavy)
3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice (about 1/2 of a lime)
1 teaspoon sugar
Procedure
Pour sugar and lime juice into a cocktail shaker and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the rum and fill shaker with ice; shake well for 10 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a wedge of lime.
View other entries from Cocktail Concoctions.
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4 Comments:
Mmm... A well made daiquiri is a thing of beauty.
One thing that I learned from bartender and bon vivant Angus Winchester is to juice the lime and then drop the peel into the mixing tin. Kind of like you do for a gin rickey. Just gives it that little extra bit of aromatic zip. Also, I like to use superfine or caster sugar. The finer sugar is easier to dissolve, so there is less of a chance of grains of sugar in the glass.
erik_flannestad at 6:39PM on 05/30/08
um-hmm, this is the old school daquiri! I almost lost my first job waiting tables outside of my parents restaurant bc I made a daquiri like this. (Long story and everybody thought I was an idiot) I feel so vindicated right now. I think I'll have to make some old school daquiris this weekend to celebrate.
wookie at 7:19PM on 05/30/08
Old school daquiris rock! I had my first at El Floridita in Havana where Hemingway used to drink them. Hard to get in a bar in the USA.
bdorfman at 1:06AM on 05/31/08
Oh, yes! If a daquiri or margarita tastes like a green lifesaver, you know they're doing something wrong. Thanks for featuring this.
lemons at 10:10AM on 05/31/08