Hemingway Daiquiri aka Papa Doble
Tracing the roots of the Hemingway Daiquiri to the El Floradita bar in Havana, Cuba, this smooth cocktail was originally called the Papa Doble. It was created by their famous bartender, Constantion Ribailagua, in honor of Ernest Hemingway. Don’t save this cocktail only for summer, it is sublime and really meant to be enjoyed all year.
I have fond memories of Daiquiris. I remember my mother and step father, having summer patio parties and drinking frozen daiquiris. Mind you these daiquiris were not the elegant shaken ones but rather from a cardboard container from the frozen isle, shhh, no brands named here. I even loved them in my early twenties but that is also when I thought white zin was a good wine. We made them often while I was living in Phoenix, the same frozen ones, from the same cardboard container, but from a different frozen aisle. How we grow up and learn better …. a few weeks ago while in Palm Springs, I had the ultimate Classic Daiquiri and all else is history ….. smooth, almost too smooth and oh so flavorful!
I squealed with delight last week when I heard the 19th was National Daiquiri Day, not that I needed an excuse to whip up a batch; but, I did! After some investigation, I found the Hemingway Daiquiri, which is made with fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit and lime juice. Now, Hemingway did not like sugar in his drinks so the bartender, Constantion Ribailagua, would substitute it with maraschino liqueur. I am not a big fan of maraschino liqueur, so I whipped up a batch of simple syrup and used this with an abundant amount of fresh squeezed juice. This drink is smooth, citrus and very refreshing. This my friend, is my new favorite cocktail!
Recipe: Hemingway Daiquiri
*makes one drink
1 1/2 ounces white rum
1 ounce fresh ruby red grapefruit juice
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
ice
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a swirl of grapefruit rind. Serve. Sip.
Oooh, I can see how these could be very delicious–and dangerous. But in a good way! It’s amazing what flavors we discover when we skip the mixes and pre-made stuff, and go back to the basics. I’ve gotta try these!
I love grapefruit juice and this sound so summery and refreshing!
I may have missed the official celebration on the 19th, but we won’t be missing out on this wonderful sounding cocktail. Louis and I love grapefruit and I agree with Justine, it sounds so refreshing.
Thanks for sharing.
Nice post. Coincidentally I wrote about the Hemingway a couple weeks ago as well. You can check it here if you so desire: http://umamimart.blogspot.com/2009/07/happy-hour-daiquiri.html
I must say however, that while I’m all for retooling cocktails to fit one’s taste, it’s simply not a Hemingway without the Maraschino, as it adds that indelible touch that sets it apart from other daiquiris, even more so than the grapefruit juice I’d say. A fine post nevertheless!
Is the maraschino liqueur of which you are not a fan the Stock brand or Luxardo? We don’t care for the Stock Maraschino, but we LOVE the Luxardo – although it is powerful stuff and can overpower a drink if you don’t measure carefully.
We’ve tried more than 8 recipes for the El Floridita #3, our favorite is on our website (above)
[...] I had this theory that there might be some sort of Sanskrit roots to the word Frangipani (pani = water and all that), but as far as I can find out, Frangipani refers to a tropical flower (and a few other stuff). How that relates to the cocktail, I have no idea and the web is sparse on details about it. The only other mention of it as a cocktail has a very different recipe. As Gourmet put it, the drink is a variation of the Hemmingway daiquiri: [...]