Don's Special Daiquiri Cocktail Recipe
Two rums, two citrus juices and grapefruit liqueur — the Daiquiri as a tiki bartender would rebuild it.
- Category: New Era Drinks
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 22%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~4 min
Ingredients
- White rum45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Aged rum22 ml (0.7 oz)
- Fresh lime juice22 ml (0.7 oz)
- Grapefruit juice22 ml (0.7 oz)
- Grapefruit liqueur15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Simple syrup10 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake until well chilled.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Garnish
Lime wheel
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads, it smells of lemon and lime peel, there is pineapple and passion fruit in it and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
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.
- Aged rum
- Aged rum. The barrel gives it a tannin and oak character close to whiskey's; it is smooth enough to drink neat, which is why the drinks built on it keep the ingredient list short.
- 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.
- Grapefruit juice
- Grapefruit juice. Pink is sweet and soft, white is bitter and sharp — when a recipe does not say which, pink is the safer call.
- 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
From Don the Beachcomber's numbered recipe book, where splitting the base between rums was standard practice long before anyone called it that.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Don's Special Daiquiri mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Don's Special Daiquiri?
- Roughly 22% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Don's Special 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 Don's Special Daiquiri hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.