Happy Hour: Daquiri

What do you think of when you hear the word daquiri?  Is it a sweet, pink, fruity, frozen drink in a bulbous hurricane glass? Or maybe in a plastic cup at an all-inclusive resort or in New Orleans?  A lot of folks think a frozen strawberry daquiri is the definition of a daquiri, but what if I told you a classic daquiri is actually a sweet and sour cocktail made with just rum, lime and simple syrup?  It’s not even frozen!

Daquiris are one of the original basic cocktails.  It originated in Cuba. It is so simple, but the ingredients work perfectly together. If you think you don’t like rum, try this recipe. The lime balances out any harshness in the rum so the cocktail just tastes refreshing.

All you need for this simple cocktail is rum, limes and simple syrup. Simple syrup is very easy to make by mixing equal parts sugar and hot water and stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Store any leftover syrup in the fridge for a week – it can go moldy if you keep it any longer.

Classic Daquiri

Ingredients:

2 oz white/light rum

1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice

½ oz simple syrup

Instructions:

Fill a shaker with ice and add the ingredients. Shake until chilled and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

*Bonus recipe: The Hemingway Daquiri

Daquiris and Cuba are synonymous with Earnest Hemingway. The Hemingway Daquiri was invented in Cuba to honour Hemingway, who was reputed to prefer a drink with less sugar and more alcohol content. This is a very different cocktail than the classic daquiri, despite very small differences in ingredients.  A tiny bit of grapefruit juice and Maraschino liqueur replace the simple syrup, making a much more complex cocktail with a tinge of pink. (Marshino liqueur is not very sweet, it actually tastes of bitter almonds, but adds a brightness and complexity to the drink.)

Hemingway Daquiri

Ingredients:

1½ oz white rum

¾ oz fresh-squeezed lime juice

¼ oz fresh grapefruit juice

¼ oz maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)

Instructions:

Fill a shaker with ice and add the ingredients. Shake until chilled and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Cheers! Enjoy!

Happy Hour - Punch Romaine

Have you ever watched the TV show Hannibal?  If not, you should! The first two seasons are available on Netflix, and the the way they film food is unbelievable.  The final season is wrapping up on NBC right now.  It's not a spoiler to reveal that earlier this season Hannibal, played wonderfully by Mads Mikkelsen, mixes Punch Romaine to serve to his guests.

Punch Romaine was one of the last things served to first class passengers on the Titanic before it sank.  

It's an icy cocktail of rum, orange, wine, champagne and egg whites.  Here's what you need to make one cocktail:

1 egg white
1 oz white rum
1 oz white wine
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
2 oz champagne (or sparkling wine)
twist of orange peel for garnish

You'll also need crushed ice, a cocktail shaker and a cocktail coupe to serve.  I used the cocktail glass above.  

I used my blender to crush the ice, which worked very well.  Mound the ice in the glass just like an iceberg.  My crazy husband thought staging these pictures in front of a picture of the Titanic would be fun.  

Shake the egg white, rum, wine, simple syrup, lemon juice and orange juice together in a cocktail shaker with ice until frothy and chilled.  

Pour the cocktail into the glass and top with champagne and orange peel.  Enjoy in calm weather.  

This cocktail was surprisingly light and tasty. It would be a great palate cleanser between courses at a fancy dinner, or a cooling treat on a hot night while watching your favourite TV show.  Cheers!  

Mojito

Here's a repeat post from last summer.  I thought it was important to get this information out there during this hot summer weekend.  Enjoy!  

This is the reason I started growing mint in my garden.  This is an extremely refreshing cocktail, perfect for a hot summer day!

I usually use a cocktail shaker for this, but it's easy to muddle the ingredients in a glass.  

Use a handful of mint.

Sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar.

Muddle with a wooden spoon.  Muddling releases the oils and flavour from the mint.

Add the juice of a lime and mix to dissolve the sugar.

And a shot of white rum.

Fill the glass with ice and top with club soda.

Drink on the deck with a good book.  Refreshing!