The Hemingway Daiquiri is the Daiquiri rebuilt for a man who did not take sugar. Grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur join the lime and rum; the simple syrup is gone entirely. The result is tart, dry, and faintly bitter.
A Daiquiri with the sweetness argued out of it.
El Floridita and the Papa Doble
The drink was born at El Floridita in Havana, the bar where Hemingway drank through the 1930s. His personal order — a double, with no sugar and extra rum — became known as the Papa Doble. The slightly more balanced version served today is the Hemingway Daiquiri.
Maraschino Does the Sweetening
With the simple syrup removed, maraschino liqueur carries what little sweetness the drink has — a small pour, nutty and floral, that rounds the grapefruit's edge without ever making the drink taste sweet. Use it sparingly; it dominates quickly.
Frozen, in Hemingway's Honour
Hemingway took his blended with crushed ice, and many bars still serve the Hemingway Daiquiri frozen. Shaken and served up is the cleaner expression; frozen is the more faithful one. Neither is wrong.
The Daiquiri Family
The classic — white rum, fresh lime, and sugar, shaken hard and served straight up.
- 2 ozWhite rum
- 1 ozFresh lime juice
- 3/4 ozSimple syrup
The Daiquiri blended with crushed ice into a cold, pale-green slush.
- 2 ozWhite rum
- 1 ozLime juice
- 3/4 ozSimple syrup
Fresh strawberries blended into the Daiquiri — fruit-forward and frozen.
- 2 ozWhite rum
- 5 ripeStrawberries
- 1 ozLime juice
Donn Beach's mint-and-peach Daiquiri, blended pale green and built to be sessionable.
- 1 ozLight rum
- 1/2 ozPeach brandy
- 12-15Fresh mint leaves
Overproof Jamaican rum stacked with green Chartreuse and falernum — strong on purpose.
- 1 ozOverproof Jamaican rum
- 3/4 ozGreen Chartreuse
- 1/4 ozFalernum
Parfait Amour in place of most of the sugar, tinting the glass lilac.
- 1 2/3 ozLight white rum
- 1/2 ozParfait Amour liqueur
- 1/2 ozFresh lime juice
Embury's dressier footnote — orgeat and pineapple liqueur where the sugar syrup goes.
- 1 2/3 ozLight white rum
- 1/2 ozPineapple liqueur
- 1/4 ozOrgeat
Pineapple juice for half the sugar, shaken and poured over ice instead of blended.
- 2 ozLight rum
- 1 1/4 ozFresh pineapple juice
- 1/2 ozFresh lime juice
Pineapple and orange stacked over orgeat — the beach-chair end of the family.
- 1 1/2 ozLight rum
- 1 ozFresh pineapple juice
- 1/4 ozOrgeat
Overproof rum with coconut and coffee liqueur over pineapple — no Caribbean pedigree.
- 1 1/2 ozOverproof rum
- 3/4 ozCoconut rum liqueur
- 1/4 ozCoffee liqueur
Cachaça on overproof Jamaican rum, cut with coconut water — as loud as the name.
- 1 ozCachaça
- 2/3 ozOverproof Jamaican rum
- 1/3 ozCoconut water
Two nautical rums and gold-flecked Goldwasser — the name is the whole conceit.
- 3/4 ozOverproof white rum
- 3/4 ozNavy-strength rum
- 1/2 ozGoldwasser