Daiquiri: Classic and Sophisticated (2024)

Not to be confused with fruity frozen drinks served at beach resorts and party bars around the world, a proper Daiquiri is a classic sour co*cktail suitable for sipping at a swanky lounge or intimate speakeasy. And, with just three ingredients, it’s also one of the easiest drinks for amateur mixologists to craft at home.

Our history of the Daiquiri involves drinking the colorful concoctions in flavors like mango and purple voodoo in New Orleans. However, the co*cktail’s real history traces back to Cuba and involves one of the world’s greatest literary giants.

Fun Fact
The Daiquiri is one of Cuba’s three signature co*cktails along with the Mojito and Cuba Libre. All three of these Cuban co*cktails feature white rum.

Although the Daiquiri originated in Cuba, co*cktail lore attributes the rum sour’s creation to Jennings Cox, an American mining executive working near Daiquiri, Cuba at the turn of the 20th century. The exact details of the Pre-Prohibition drink’s origin are as cloudy as a blended co*cktail but the recipe has stood the test of time.

Discover our favorite Pre-Prohibition co*cktails.

Over the years, countless drinkers have succumbed to the charms of the simple Daiquiri both within Cuba and beyond the Caribbean country’s shores. Ernest Hemingway, no stranger to a good drink, imbibed so many double Bacardi Daiquiris at El Floridita in Havana that the prolific writer acquired the nickname Papa Dobles and inspired a variant known as the Hemingway Daiquiri.

After making the short journey from Cuba to the United States, the Daiquiri’s popularity spread across America. The drink’s sweeter, slushier frozen counterpart may have overshadowed the original but true co*cktail connoisseurs prefer the gentile charm of the original concoction.

Fun Fact
The brightest teetotallers know how to craft a Daiquiri at home.

Legend has it that Cox used white Bacardi rum, granulated sugar and fresh lime juice to craft his original Daiquiri recipe. We use the same ingredients, purposefully choosing sugar over simple syrup. Besides ice, these are the only three ingredients you’ll need.

Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.

You can buy Daiquiri mix but don’t do it! Instead, follow our easy Bacardi Daiquiri recipe and craft a quality co*cktail without preservatives in just five minutes.

Pro Tip
Noted Daiquiri mixologist Jeff Berry and the Bacardi company also use granulated sugar in their recipes. Either granulated sugar or simple syrup will work when crafting a classic Daiquiri.

If you don’t have access to Bacardi, you can use another white rum like Appleton Estate or Havana Club. We bought a bottle of Bacardi Carta Blanca superior white rum for €15 at our local Lisbon liquor store. This rum’s ABV is 37.5%.

Discover our favorite rum co*cktails.

Making a Bacardi Daiquiri is as simple of squeezing, mixing, shaking and pouring. These are the only steps in our recipe. In other words, you’ll be drinking your crafted co*cktail in just five minutes.

Beyond the three necessary ingredients, our recipe requires a few bar tools – a jigger, co*cktail shaker and strainer. You probably have these at home if you’re a co*cktail drinker. Otherwise, they’re not expensive.

Although the Bacardi Daiquiri is one of the most refreshing co*cktails to drink during the warm summer months, you may want to modify the formula to adjust the sweetness and tartness levels. Experimenting with the amounts of sugar and lime juice will allow you to find your sweet (or tart) spot.

Discover more summer co*cktails that you can craft at home.

Another option is to doctor the recipe by adding fruits like strawberries, peaches, melon or even avocado. Better yet, add maraschino liqueur and grapefruit juice to create a Hemingway Daiquiri, the version inspired by Papa Dobles.

Or, if you’re in the mood for a ‘girly drink’, ramp up your co*cktail in a blender with strawberries and ice. Boom! You just made a frozen strawberry Daiquiri.

Try our classic Bacardi Daiquiri recipe first. Who knows? Maybe it will hit your co*cktail sweet spot.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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