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Home » Distiller’s Log » Hemingway Daiquiri – Summer in a glass

Hemingway Daiquiri – Summer in a glass

A coupe glass filled with an icy Hemingway Daiquiri, with lime and grapefruit juices garnished with a lime wheel. Speed Shift Distillery in Ferndale, WA

The Hemingway Daiquiri, created for the writer Ernest Hemingway during his extensive travels in Havana, is a variation of the classic daiquiri. The combination of light rum, lime and grapefruit juices, along with maraschino liqueur makes for a bracing, complex cocktail that — unlike daiquiris that suffer from an overly sweet cloying taste — finishes nice and dry. While Hemingway took this daiquiri without added sugar, most people prefer adding a slight sweetness. 

Consider finding your preference by trying this recipe twice; once with, and once without, the optional simple syrup.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz white VRUM rum
  • .75 oz fresh squeezed lime juice (don’t used any bottled stuff here – it makes a difference!)
  • . 5 oz fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
  • .5 oz maraschino liqueur
  • OPTIONAL .25 oz brown sugar simple syrup (1:1)
  • Lime wheel for garnish

Directions to make the Hemingway Daiquiri

  1. Add Vrum, lime and grapefruit juice along with the maraschino liqueur (and optionally, the simple syrup) into a cocktail shaker.
  2. Fill with ice and shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
  3. Strain the contents into a chilled coupe glass.
  4. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Experiment with the grapefruit juice, the maraschino liqueur and the simple syrup to get the perfect sweet or tartness for your preferences. To simplify things, I often opt to add a dash of syrup from the cherry jar for sweetness instead of adding the maraschino liqueur.

And of course, while not Hemingway’s choice, I add a luxardo cherry to the drink for fun.

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