Daiquiri

The Daiquiri is the sour in its purest form: white rum, fresh lime juice, and sugar, shaken with ice and served up. Named for a beach near Santiago de Cuba and fixed in the canon in the bars of early-twentieth-century Havana, it is the drink bartenders use to judge a bar — because there is nowhere to hide.

The Test of a Bar

Three ingredients, no garnish to distract, no bitters to paper over a mistake. A Daiquiri is naked balance — if the lime, sugar, and rum are not in tune, you taste it immediately.

Fresh lime is not negotiable, and the sugar should be a syrup so it integrates cleanly. A classic ratio runs roughly 2 : 3/4 : 3/4, rum to lime to syrup, adjusted to the sharpness of your limes.

Shake It Cold

Shake hard and not a moment too long — the goal is a drink that is intensely cold, lightly diluted, and faintly frothy from the aeration. Double-strain into a chilled coupe.

This is the classic Daiquiri, served up and clear. It is a different animal from the blended, sweet, strawberry version — and once you have had it made well, the frozen kind starts to feel like a missed opportunity.

Variations