Celebrate National Daiquiri Day With These Stand Out Riffs on the 125 Year Old Cocktail
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It’s hard to tell when National Daiquiri Day came about and who first started it, but the why is pretty clear in our opinion. Daiquiris are delicious and one the best cocktails made with rum. With just three simple ingredients the rum becomes the star of the show with sweet lime to round out the drink. Celebrate on July 19th every year, but especially this year which marks the 125th year since the drink’s original conception. Learn more about the original daiquiri and then have fun with it since this cocktail is nearly infinitely riffable.
The History
According to records from The Bacardi Archives, the story of the Daiquiri begins in the late 1890s during the Golden Age of Cocktails when many classic cocktail recipes were first invented. This was also the height of the Spanish-American War in Cuba led Americans to travel to the island.
In 1898, an American mining engineer named Jennings S. Cox was stationed in the copper mines near the small Cuban town named Daiquirí. To cool off, Cox crafted a refreshing drink with three local ingredients – white sugar, fresh lime juice, and Bacardí Carta Blanca rum which was not so dissimilar to punches and grog around that time. His colleague F.D. Pagliuchi later recounted witnessing Cox mix up what would be the first Daiquiri cocktail in Santiago according to local Cuban newspaper El País, dubbing it daiquiri after the town where it was first conceived.
The Original Recipe According to Bacardí
For the original cocktail sugar was used instead of the simple syrup which is the common ingredient today. This is the basic cocktail but changes can be made to adjust for the lime juice or rum choice.
BacardÍ Daiquiri
(Photo: BACARDÍ )
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Bacardí Superior / Carta Blanca rum
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoon extra fine sugar
Directions
Add the sugar and freshly pressed lime juice into a cocktail shaker and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the BACARDÍ rum into the shaker and fill with half-cubed ice, followed by crushed ice. Place the lid on the shaker and shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled and the shaker is ice cold to the touch. Pour into a chilled coupe glass.
Pineapple Daiquiri
(Photo: Jakub Dziubak/Unsplash)
Simply switching up the rum can make a major impact on the daiquiri. This version brings a little more tropical flare to the classic cocktail.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces pineapple rum
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- ¾ ounce of simple syrup
- 1 dash of Angostura bitters
Directions
Add pineapple rum into a shaker (we recommend Plantation Stiggin’s Fancy or Key West Glazed Pineapple) along with the lime juice, simple syrup and bitters. Next, add the ice into the shaker and shake until well chilled. Pour into a chilled coupe glass.
Honey Daiquiri
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Another way to take your daiquiri game to the next level is by mixing up what to use for sweetener. Honey brings out different characteristics in rum and goes well with aged expressions.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces of gold rum
- 1 ounce honey syrup
- ⅓ ounce fresh lime juice
- ⅔ ounce fresh lemon juice
Directions
Make honey syrup by using a 1:1 ratio combining honey and water and heating gently in a pot until combined. Let the syrup cool before use. Add the rum, honey syrup and juices into a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and serve in a chilled coupe glass.
Read Next:
How to Make a Perfect Daiquiri Every Single Time
‘Alcoholic Lime Candy’: YouTube’s The Educated Barfly’s 5 Favorite Rums for a Daiquiri
3 Twists on the Classic Piña Colada
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