The most common story of the cocktail’s origin has it invented in the late 1930's in a bar named Venus in Santiago (Cuba), although the official naming didn’t come until about 150 years later. Jennings Cox, General Manager of the Spanish American Iron Co, tried the cocktail and in an attempt to come up with a name, he called it a Daiquiri (after the mining town). Daiquiri is also the name of a beach near Santiago, Cuba. A far less common account credits the invention to Cox saying that he came up with the drink after running out of gin while entertaining American guests. Originally served in a tall glass with ice, the cocktail evolved into a shaken cocktail that is served in a flute or cocktail glass. The Daiquiri saw its greatest rise in popularity during the 1940’s when wartime rationing caused whiskey, vodka and other spirits to become difficult to obtain. During this time, Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy opened trade and travel relations with Cuba and thus, allowing rum to become widely available.

In addition to its classic iteration, the Daiquiri was also commonly mixed with grapefruit juice and Maraschino liqueur in lieu of sugar. This version became known as the Hemingway Daiquiri or a Papa Doble.  The cocktail originated at famous bar in Havana called The Florida, aka, “El Floridita”. While living in Cuba, Ernest Hemingway, an avid drinker, frequented the bar often but had distaste for the sugar that they put in his drinks. Instead of sugar, Hemingway had it replaced by grapefruit juice and Maraschino liqueur. The nickname for the cocktail, Papa Doble, came from the fact that Hemingway would always order his cocktail as a double. Page 30 of the Floridita menu contains the cocktail’s recipe, labeled incorrectly as the “E. Henmingway” Special.

Ted Perez Variation:

Daiquiri:
2.5 oz light rum
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tsp simple syrup

Hemmingway Daiquiri (Papa Doble)
2.5 oz light rum
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
0.5 oz Marashino juice or liqueur
0.5 oz fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

Cruzan Rum 

Original Daiquiri:

Combination was extremely smooth (almost like water). There was a significant level of tartness that covered up most of the rum. A little more simple syrup would help balance this out.

Hemmingway Daiquiri:

There was a moderate tartness brought on by the grapefruit juice and the lime. Overall, it wasn’t very sweet and the finish was on the weaker side. Aftertaste was similar to gin.

Flor de Cana Rum 

Original Daiquiri:

Sweeter and dryer combination than the Cruzan rum. Taste was smooth and mild throughout, but there was a slight alcoholic nose reminiscent of gin.

Hemmingway Daiquiri:

A light puckering tartness at the beginning led into a balanced flavor profile from the grapefruit juice (imagine grapefruit lemonade). Rum was barely detectable. Also, the maraschino flavors really popped towards the end.

Bacardi Superior

Original Daiquiri:

This version wasn’t nearly as tart as previous days, however, this opened up the cocktail for more of the rum flavors to come through. The Bacardi was very pronounced from start to finish with some moderate sweetness balancing it out on the backend. Moderately smooth despite the strong rum notes.

Hemmingway Daiquiri:

Not a very smooth combination (slightly bitter and dry with a small bite in the finish). Also, there wasn't much in terms of tanginess so the flavor profile was very dull. Overall, this was the least flavorful and balanced combination of the versions tested. 

Matusalem Rum

Original Daiquiri:

This combination had the most balance of sweet vs tart. Taste and finish were both very smooth with a lingering spicy essence from the rum. Excellent overall.

Hemmingway Daiquiri:

This version was also very balanced with strong sweetness but not too much tart. There was a light rum flavor in this version as well but overall, the cocktail maintained its smoothness. Very similar in flavor to pink lemonade.

Oronoco Rum

Original Daiquiri:

This rum was definitely the most distinct and different for the Daiquiris tested. The cane sugar and spices in the rum overwhelmed the tartness in the cocktail, similar to how the lime juice overpowered the Cruzan version.

Hemmingway Daiquiri:

With the combination of grapefruit juice and maraschino, the Oronoco rum created a candy-like sweetness to the cocktail (again, overpowering). There was very little tanginess in the flavor profile. Finish was sweet with a lingering essence of cinnamon.

Verdict:

In both versions of the Daiquiri, Matusalem rum yielded the most balance flavor profile while still allowing the intended flavors of the rum to come out. Other versions such as those containing Cruzan and Flor de Cana tended to leave too much of the lime’s tanginess while the Oronoco left the drink way too sweet.