Daiquiri Cocktail Recipe
White rum, lime and sugar shaken into a perfectly balanced sour. Deceptively simple.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 20%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- White rum60 ml (2 oz)
- Fresh lime juice25 ml (0.8 oz)
- Simple syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard until cold.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Garnish
Lime wheel
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- White rum
- The Cuban style is light and dry, the Puerto Rican a little rounder. It is the base of the mojito and the daiquiri; swap in gold rum and the drink turns sweeter.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
The Story
Named after a beach near Santiago de Cuba; popularized by American engineer Jennings Cox around 1900.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Daiquiri mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Daiquiri?
- Roughly 20% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Daiquiri be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Daiquiri hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.