Classic Daiquiri in a coupette glass with lime twist garnish

National Daiquiri Day is fast approaching (it’s on Sunday 19th July), so this week I thought I’d focus exclusively on daiquiris, starting with the classic daiquiri today.

I’ve been reading up on daiquiris and I’ve seen a few variations in the way they are made, but this is how I make mine.

Now, I want to help you make cocktails you’ll enjoy at home, so I’m not going to suggest any difficult-to-find ingredients here and as white rum has all the colour and therefore a lot of the flavours removed you don’t need to be too particular with it, but I wouldn’t buy the super cheap stuff, get something branded at least.

With the lime, freshly squeezed really is best. I’ve taste tested against bottled juice and in a short drink like a daiquiri I promise you’ll almost certainly notice the difference in flavour and texture.

For the sweetness I use homemade 1:1 sugar syrup (1 mug of white caster sugar dissolved in 1 mug of water). You can substitute this for 15ml / 2 teaspoons of sugar, which will give a more sherbetty edge, but I find it less hassle to just add the syrup and then have to dissolve granules in the lime juice. I use white sugar to maintain the beautiful fresh colour of the drink. Golden sugar works well in some drinks, but not here.

Finally, the ice. I’ve read about people using a mixture of cubed and crushed, but if you’re just making this baby at home, use whatever ice you have. Who has 2 different types of ice?!

Ingredients

• 50ml white rum, preferably Bacardi
• 25ml freshly squeezed lime juice
• 25ml 1:1 sugar syrup
• Lime peel for garnish (peel from lime before juicing)
• Ice

Equipment

• Metal shaker
• Juicer for the lime
• Some sort of ml measuring device
• Fine strainer (or tea strainer – they’re cheaper and easier to come by)
• Good guns for shaking!

Method

1.  Add all the ingredients to a metal shaker and fill 1/2 – 2/3 with ice.
2. Top with your lid or Boston tin and shake well to chill, add dilution and alter the texture. You’ll probably need to shake for about 10 seconds or until the outside of the shaker is super cold (NB this is why we use metal, so we can get an idea of the temperature.
3. Fine strain into a coupette or martini glass and garnish with a lime twist if you fancy. We fine strain to remove ice crystals.
4. Enjoy! You’ve earned it!

If you’re making multiple daiquiris, I’d advise only making 2 at a time or you’ll have too much liquid in your shaker and not enough ice.

Daiquiri in martini glass

I’d love to see your daiquiris, so if you do make a cocktail tag in on Instagram or Twitter with #CocktailJo and I’ll keep an eye out for it.