Perfecting Your Daiquiris for Summer

With summer nearly upon us, or here already depending on where you live it's time to crack out your favorite daiquiri recipes.   The basic daiquiri is a perfect blend of rum, sugar syrup and lime juice and is fantastic anytime of the year, but summer is when the frozen daiquiri makes a very welcome appearance.


I love making up a batch of frozen daiquiris and hiring a frozen daiquiris machine (I think they're officially called a frozen drinks machine!) so that people can serve themselves at a summer party.

Margaritaville Tahiti Frozen Concoction Maker, DM3000
I am definitely tempted to get my very own frozen daiquiri machine and this one seems perfect because you can make more than one drink. Imagine a daiquiri of your choice and a margarita of your choice and an alcohol free frozen drinks for sober drivers, moms to be or children.

This machine would certainly get the party started in style and having read the reviews I am even more tempted....... it would certainly save on the rental, plus it's available for those impromptu gatherings as well....

If you have one please let me know how you've found it in the comments.

In the mean time have you perfected your daiquiri making skills for the upcoming summer? Whether you decide to stick to classic daiquiri recipes or embrace some frozen daiquiri recipes we do all have our favorites don't we? I love the abundance of strawberries in summer which is why I want to talk strawberry daiquiris (my hubby is muttering about an abundance of mango, but as I don't like them and I'm writing this I'm going to stick with strawberries!)

How to Make Strawberry Daiquiris

Strawberry Daiquiri Recipes

Strawberry Daiquiri By The CulinaryGeek
from Chicago, USA

If you're making your strawberry daiquiri during the strawberry season then you'll often find that they are sweet enough to not require any added sugar so be sure to taste them first (the overly sweet bagged concoction of strawberry daiquiri concentrates that are available are enough to put you right off the drink!).

Here is a recipe that doesn't call for ice, just in case your teeth are feeling a little sensitive or you don't think it's a warm enough day for a frozen drink -

Sugar Free Strawberry Daiquiri Recipe

This makes four servings so it's perfect for when your closest girlfriends come over.

6 oz rum
4 oz fresh lime juice
1 pint strawberries, hulls removed, reserving 4 for garnish

Place all of the ingredients into a blender and process until blended smooth.

Pour the mixture into 4 tall glasses and garnish with the reserved strawberries.

Homemade Strawberry Daiquiri

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri Recipes

Please don't buy those bags of mix, making your own can be so easy by following some of these recipes -

Super Quick Strawberry Daiquiri Recipe with Frozen Strawberries

1 cup light rum
2 cups frozen whole strawberries (1 16-ounce bag)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup of lime juice

First of all place your rum and lime juice into your blender and then add sugar allowing it to dissolve.

Add a few strawberries to the blender; pulsing to break them up then add more until mixture is nice and smooth.

Pour into chilled or frozen glasses as room temperature glasses allow your daiquiri to thaw too quickly. If it's an impromptu gathering and you don't have any chilled glasses then fill the glasses with ice before starting to make the daiquiris and empty them before adding the drink - it will help to cool the glasses down quickly.

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri with Fresh Strawberries

2 parts light rum
1 part triple sec
5 large strawberries
1/2 cup crushed ice
lime juice as needed

Add all of the ingredients to the blender including just a little squeeze of lime juice and blend until the mixture is smooth - taste to see if you need a little more lime juice or not.
Rim the edge of a martini glass with lime juice and then fine sugar and fill with the strawberry daiquiri.

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National Daiquiri Day

July 19th is National Daiquiri Day which means you need to grab the rum and start making your favorite type of daiquris!

If you want to know more about this delicious cocktail then I have already written the basic recipe, tools required and history of the cocktail on a previous post in preparation for this very holiday (or an urge to imbibe in this delicious concoction) - Daiquiri's - the Best Rum Cocktail?

Now it's all well and good to drink the regular daiquiri and if that's your preference enjoy away, but I do like to look at other recipes especially on this auspicious occasion so let's explore more daiquiri recipes.....

Golden Glove Daiquiri

Classic Daiquiri

When it comes to the Golden Glove Daiquiri another spirit is added which is cointreau and, much like when making Margaritas, this is used as part of the sweetener.

3 parts Cuban white rum
1 part lime juice
1 ½ parts sugar syrup
¼ part cointreau

Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

Fruits should not be discounted as a good addition to daiquiris, always bearing in mind the sweet/sour combination. Tart fruits such as plums, lemons or grapefruits bring some of the best flavors.

However sweet fruits can also be used, but these should be tempered by adding lemon or lime juice to the blend as well.

Plum Daiquiri

3 parts Cuban white rum
1 part lime juice
½ part sugar syrup
1 part black plum flesh mashed

Using a muddler mash the plum flesh in the bottom of the shaker with the rum. Add the rest of the ingredients, along with ice, and shake well. Strain into a cocktial glass to serve.

Pineapple Daiquiri

3 parts Cuban white rum
1 part pineapple juice
½ part lime juice
1 part sugar syrup

Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

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Daiquiris - The Best Rum Cocktail?

How to Make the Best Daiquiris

To really enjoy a Daiquiri you need to love the balance of sweet and sour that the lime juice and sugar syrup bring out. The way that these two ingredients mellows out the harshness of the rum and allows you to experience it's background flavors is wonderful.

Let's delve into the world of Daiquiris and learn how to get the balance of flavors perfect in your daiquiri as well as experimenting with some of the delicious daquiri recipes we've found.

A daiquiri is a very simple cocktail it is merely rum plus a sweet and sour combination.

In the classic daiquiri the sweet and sour is added by the sugar syrup and lime juice.

Daiquiri

3 parts Cuban white rum
1 part lime juice
1 1/2 parts sugar syrup

Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake for 10 seconds before straining into a cocktail glass.

Daiquiri Poster

The History of the Daiquiri

Daiquiris are named after a beach near Santiago in Cuba however after this the story is split into two Daiquiri legends.

Daiquiri Legend #1

This legend is by far the most commonly heard of story and credits an American by the name of Jennings Cox with creating this divine drink.

Jennings Cox was the Managing Director of a company of mining engineers that were working at an iron mine near Daiquiri beach. The legend goes that Jennings was entertaining at a bar in Santiago named Venus bar when they ran out of gin.

Jennings looked at the best ingredients that were available which just happened to be Cuban rum, limes and sugar syrup and thus the Daiquiri was born.

Daiquiri Legend #2

The other legend is that the Daiquiri was a local secret until a man by the name of Admiral Lucius Johnston tasted it and fell in love with it. He managed to get the recipe and took it back to Washington DC where he introduced it at the Army and Navy Club. From Washington to the world it would seem as the Daiquiri started attracting fans around the globe.

Rum, The Main Ingredient

Daiquiri's Flavor Key

It is always important to use good quality ingredients in your cocktails, but especially when making Daiquiris. The lime juice and sugar syrup not only mellow out the rum but also allow the background flavors to rise to the fore.

A good quality rum will have vanilla flavors and caramel flavors coming through. Try to experiment with different rums to see what one you prefer. I personally find that the Jamaican rums have more of a caramel flavor (which I love) than some of the other rums.

Sugar Syrup

How to Sweeten Your Daiquiri

Making your own sugar syrup is an easy process. Basically you need to dissolve 1kg of caster sugar in 2 litres of boiling water. Once the sugar has dissolved you can store it in the refrigerator until required.

You can use ready made sugar syrups that are available on the market such as Grenadine. Grenadine is a sugar syrup made from pomegranites which has a very distinctive red color, it is used to make the Pink Daiquiri.

Pink Daiquiri

3 parts Cuban white rum
1 part lime juice
1 part grenadine

Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

--o--

Another option is to use a natural sweetener like honey to replace your sugar syrup. There are so many different varieties of honey available that the different flavors it can impart to your daiquiri are seemingly endless.

--o--

Cuban Honey

3 parts Cuban anejo rum
1 part lime juice
1 part honey

Combine all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

You can also flavor your sugar syrups with vanilla or fruit which can add another delicious element to your perfect daiquiri.

Vanilla Syrup

500g sugar
1 ½ litres water
2 vanilla pods, split

Bring the water to a simmer in a saucepan, then add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the vanilla pods to the water and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and scrape the seeds into the liquid. Cool and store in the refrigerator until required.

If you want to try a fruit syrup simply replace the vanilla pods with the fruit of your choice.

Essential Daiquiri Equipment - Tools Needed to Make Perfect Daiquiris

Daiquiri - Photographic Print

You can't make a great Daiquiri unless you have the proper equipment and that includes something to squeeze your fresh lime juice with. You also require a cocktail shaker and for some a muddler.

First up is a citrus juicer while not essential I wouldn't be without one myself. Although I have a big juicer in my kitchen when it comes to my bar I go for a manual one. A wooden reamer was the first type I tried before I discovered the metal citrus press. Now you can get a lemon one and a lime one (they're yellow and green respectively), but to be perfectly honest I only have the lemon one and it squeezes my limes just fine.

When it comes to juicing limes I always roll them first before cutting them to put them in the juicer. I read somewhere that it releases the flesh from the skin and you get more juice that way, I don't know if it's true, but it's how I do it!

When it comes to daiquiris (or cocktails in general really) you do need to use fresh lime juice. If you try and use the lime juices that come in bottles then the balance will be off in your drink right from the start as the bottled juice is sweetened.

A muddler is an essential bar tool, it you're going to stick with a classic daiquiri then you don't need to worry about getting one. However if you want to explore some of the recipes we've compiled then you'll need a muddler.

This muddler looks like the closest to the one I've been using at the moment (I have a different brand that I can't find online).

When it comes to making cocktails you really do need to buy a cocktail shaker of some description and they're really not very expensive these days. The biggest decision is whether to get the type of cocktail shaker I've featured below for you or what is called a Boston shaker.

I would really recommend this type of shaker, although it is a personal preference.

I am, at the moment, using a Boston Shaker as I received one as a gift (I don't know what I keep getting cocktail related gifts!), but I'm not very comfortable with it. A Boston Shaker is basically a mixing glass and a (usually steel) 'glass' which fit together for you to shake, you then tap one end and twist to pull them apart.

Boston Shaker enthusiasts will say that their favorite shaker has a mixing glass as well, but I'm here to say you can muddle in the bottom of one of these shakers just as easily and it works just as well for mixing cocktails in as it does for shaking them!

Norpro Durable Die Cast Aluminum Manual Lime JuicerStainless Steel Cocktail Muddler with Grooved Nylon HeadWinco Stainless Steel 3-Piece Cocktail Shaker Set, 16-Ounce

Daiquiri Glassware

Daiquiris can be served in a number of different types of glassware, but the most common one seems to be the cocktail or martini glass.

In some cases such as the Frozen Daiquiri and the Derby Daiquiri it is conventional to serve them in champagne flutes.

The Banana Daiquiri is another daiquiri that is not traditionally served in a cocktail glass instead they are usually served in a balloon glass.

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Summer Means Daiquiris

Daiquiris are a perfect summertime cocktail because they are one of the perfect cocktails to freeze.   Along with margaritas daiquiris have a robust enough flavor to avoid tasting watered down when frozen.

Not that you have to have frozen daiquiris in summer, any type of daiquiri would taste nice, but frozen drinks just seem to go hand in hand with lazy summer days, don't you think?

If you don't feel like a frozen daiquiri, then check out some of our other daiquiri recipes on these posts - daiquiris or more daiquiris because you can't fit enough of these cocktails on just one post!

Frozen Daiquiris

Summer time brings forth the season of the frozen daiquiri. A classic frozen daiquiri is always a refreshing drink, but in summer the most popular seem to be the strawberry and banana daiquiris.

Frozen Daiquiri

4 parts light rum
2 parts fresh lime juice
1 tsp bar sugar
½ cup cracked ice
lime slice

Combine all ingredients, except the lime slice, in a blender. Blend at low speed until slushy and pour into a chilled champagne flute to serve.

Strawberry Daiquiri

4 parts light rum
2 parts fresh lime juice
1 tsp sugar syrup
7 large fresh strawberries

You need to combine all of the ingredients, except one strawberry, with cracked ice in a blender. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled cocktails glass. Garnish with the remaining strawberry.

An Essential Frozen Daiquiri Tool

The Blender!

Oster BPCT02-BA0-000 6-Cup Glass Jar 2-Speed Toggle Beehive Blender, Brushed Stainless
This blender not only looks good but it also possesses revolutionary ice crusher blades which means perfect frozen daiquiris every time.

The big rubber feet on this blender also adds stability to the unit so that it doesn't shake too much like some other blenders can.

Banana Daiquiri

4 parts light rum
1 part triple sec
1 part fresh lime juice
1 part half-and-half
1 tsp bar sugar
¼ sliced banana
½ cup cracked ice
lime slice

Pop all of the ingredients, except for the lime slice, into a blender and blend at low speed until smooth. Pour into chilled balloon wine glass and garnish with the slice of lime.

Derby Daiquiri

4 parts light rum
2 parts fresh orange juice
1 part fresh lime juice
bar sugar 1 tsp
½ cup cracked ice

Just combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend at a low speed until smooth. Pour into a chilled champagne flute to serve.

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