Tonight we say “Screw this fiendishly foul weather!” by introducing ourselves to the sunny Daiquiri. Certainly those of you that live in a warmer climate may chuckle at my discomfort, but I need a dose of warmth and the classic Daiquiri is the prescription for my ailment.

Not the Frozen Kind, Please…

Frozen Daiquiris certainly have their place, but not tonight; this evening’s Hump Day Happy Hour is all about the classic Daiquiri. Simple yet sublime, this drink is a solid go-to for bartenders of any level of experience. Frankly, it’s pretty tough to screw up – and that works for me.

Daiquiri: A Muddled History

Like so many other legends, the creation of the Daiquiri is foggy. Many have attempted to take credit for this king among cocktails including Cuban barmen, American mining engineers and many others, but we’ll never really know. However it’s not a stretch to see how the Daiquiri developed in a region rich in Rum and citrus…

Not that it has anything to do with the providence of the cocktail, but Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders landed at the village of Daiquiri during the Spanish American War in 1898…

The Classic Lime Daiquiri

The number of Daiquiri recipes floating around is enough to make any newbie’s head swim, so I took a look at a few, sampled a couple and made several adjustments. The result was a delicious, well balanced cocktail that you may want to tweak to your own liking, but in my opinion it’s a great place to start:

• 2 oz. Aged Rum
• 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
• 3/4 oz. Lime Juice

The best part is that it’s dead simple to prepare:

• Chill your glass.
• Add the Lime Juice & Simple Syrup to your cocktail shaker.
• Add some cracked ice to the shaker. You can use a heavy spoon to crack some cubes;
  I use an old Tap-Icer
• Add Your Rum of Choice to the shaker. I used Appleton Estate V/X
• Shake it like a Polaroid Picture
• Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
• Garnish with a lime wheel.

A critic might get sarcastic by asking “7 steps is simple?,” but yes it is and worth it.

So when you need a dose of sunshine for an otherwise dreary day, the classic daiquiri has earned my full endorsement. I’m confident that it’ll earn yours too.