Hemingway Daiquiri Recipe

Before you start

The Hemingway daiquiri, sometimes called the Papa Doble or Hemingway Special, takes the classic rum sour and adds grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur. It is drier and more bitter than a standard daiquiri, with a pleasant cherry-almond note from the liqueur. Stories about its connection to the writer are widely repeated but hard to pin down, so treat the name as tradition.

Specs vary widely. Some versions use a lot of grapefruit and no added sugar; others add a little syrup. This page uses a balanced build with a small amount of syrup, because most grapefruit and maraschino alone leave the drink quite sharp. Taste and drop the syrup if you like a very dry, bracing drink.

Ingredients

• 60 ml (2 oz) white rum
• 22 ml (¾ oz) fresh lime juice
• 15 ml (½ oz) fresh grapefruit juice — pink or white
• 7.5 ml (¼ oz) maraschino liqueur
• 7.5 ml (¼ oz) simple syrup (1:1) — optional; adjust to taste
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 1 lime wheel or grapefruit peel

Method

1. Freeze the coupe for 10 minutes so the drink stays cold to the last sip.
2. Squeeze and strain the lime and grapefruit juices.
3. Add the rum, lime, grapefruit, maraschino and syrup, if using, to the shaker.
4. Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds, until the outside is frosted.
5. Double-strain into the chilled coupe.
6. Garnish with a lime wheel, or express a grapefruit peel over the surface.

Tips for success

• Maraschino liqueur is strongly flavored. Measure it carefully; 15 ml can overwhelm the drink.
• Pink grapefruit is a little sweeter than white grapefruit, so you may not need the syrup.
• A crisp, light rum keeps the citrus in focus; heavily aged rums cover the grapefruit.

Substitutions

Maraschino liqueur

A small amount of kirsch adds cherry flavor without sweetness; increase the syrup by 5 ml to compensate.

Grapefruit juice

Bottled not-from-concentrate grapefruit juice is acceptable here, though fresh tastes brighter.

Simple syrup

Use a few drops of rich syrup, or leave it out entirely for a very dry drink.

Variations

Frozen Hemingway

Blend the ingredients with 1 cup of ice. Add 5 ml extra syrup, because cold mutes sweetness.

Larger grapefruit version

Increase the grapefruit to 30 ml and the maraschino to 15 ml, and skip the syrup, for a drier, more citrus-forward drink.

Troubleshooting

It tastes medicinal

Too much maraschino. Stick to 7.5 ml and measure with a jigger.

It is too sour

Add the full 7.5 ml of syrup, or a little more if your citrus is very tart.

It tastes flat

Use juice squeezed within a few hours and shake hard with cold ice.

Storage

Serve at once. Fresh citrus juice tastes best within a few hours of squeezing; keep any leftover juice covered in the fridge and use it the same day.

Safety notes

Contains 60 ml of rum plus a little liqueur, about 1.5 U.S. standard drinks (one standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol). For adults of legal drinking age only; do not drink and drive.