Friday, May 13, 2011

Daiquiri | 21 down 254 to go

Drink the daiquiri cold, cold, cold!
One of my best and earliest memories of my DC college days was going off campus for the first time with friends.  We went to Georgetown, cruising M St. as most college students do.  It was at a cool little joint called The Daiquiri Factory in the back of CafĂ© Rondo that I had my introduction to what I thought was the daiquiri.  Turns out, they weren’t even close.  Up until now I thought they were big “spirituous Slurpees”, as H & M call them, and came in flavors like strawberry & banana & pineapple with some rum mixed in.  But I was 19 at the time.  I’m all growed up now.

H & M tell us that an American industrialist is credited with inventing the daiquiri while working in Cuba and naming it after a seaside town of the same name.  But odds are good that Cubans had been enjoying this mix long before some gringo capitalist gave it a name.  Apparently, the daiquiri was JFK’s fave, enjoying a couple before dinner.  That tidbit shot the cocktail into the stratosphere of popularity.  (Is anyone else appreciating the historical irony here?)

A true daiquiri, I should think, would be very popular these days with the current tastes for the tart & sour.  The first two sips are a little jarring.  But from the third on, this frosty imbibe is light and refreshing.  With all of 3 ingredients, it couldn’t be easier to mix.  Squeeze the limes fresh for the juice.  Adding a dash more simple syrup and rum makes it a bit less tart.  But use restraint if adding rum.  Too much and it’s just too sharp.  Also, the colder the better on this one, so shake it until the tin is so cold it frosts and your hand burns with cold.  Have a refreshing summer afternoon!

Daiquiri
1 1/2 oz. light rum
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/4 oz. simple syrup

Shake with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with lime wheel.

1 comment:

  1. i want one on the dock this summer! ah, heck...i want three!

    ReplyDelete

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