Daiquiris

This is a (slightly edited) repost from our old blog from February 2009 (hence the really bad pictures):

Not many people I know would turn down something sweet and fruity, especially a daiquiri. Until recently, I thought a daiquiri was a fruity drink that resembled a smoothie/slushy. Well, it turns out that's not so correct. A true daiquiri is composed of rum, lime juice, and sugar. It does not turn out to be the frozen concoction with which we have all come to associate the word, but is instead just like any other shaken cocktail. There are many variations on this drink, but I'm going to focus on the original and my favorite variation involving strawberries.

This recipe comes from one of our favorite Food Network shows: Good Eats.

Hardware:

• Boston shaker

• Jigger

• Serving glass

Software:

• 2 cups crushed ice, plus extra for chilling glasses

• 2 ounces light rum

• 1-ounce freshly squeezed lime juice, strained of pulp

• 1 1/2 ounces simple syrup

Lime juice is the base of this drink. The finished product is like a limeade with a kick. For this reason, fresh lime juice should be used instead of the bottled/frozen stuff you buy at the store. You should be able to get 1-2 ounces of liquid out of each lime, so plan accordingly. If you'd like to make the process a little easier by squeezing the limes all at once instead of each time you make drinks, storing the juice in a squirt bottle in the fridge is a great idea.

For those who don't know, simple syrup is made of plain old sugar and water. It's easy to make and does not bring the problems of trying to dissolve something in a cold liquid. To make it, add two cups sugar and a cup of water to a sauce pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until sugar is completely dissolved(about 3-5 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Storing in a squirt bottle in the fridge lets you have access to it quickly and nearly mess free.

This cocktail is meant to be served extremely cold. One way to ensure that is to put your serving glass in the freezer to chill. If you don't have enough freezer space, filling the serving glass with ice before serving also works. Fill your cocktail shaker with 2 cups of crushed ice and add in the rum, syrup and lime juice. Close the shaker and vigorously shake for 10 seconds. The shaking action will chill the drink until it's almost freezing while also integrating the ingredients. Once you are done shaking, take your serving glass out of the freezer or empty it of ice and strain in the drink.

A variation of this drink can be concocted with strawberries. We typically drop 4-5 quartered strawberries into the cocktail shaker and muddle before adding in the rest of the ingredients, shaking, and straining into the serving glass. The end result is obviously very "girly", but in my opinion is better than the lime daiquiri because it is sweeter.

Happy shaking!