Strawberry Daiquiri

Citrusy, sweet and refreshing, Strawberry Daiquiri is a tropical paradise in a goblet. Made in a base of white rum, this fruity, icy cocktail is synonymous with sunny Cuban beaches.

The meteoric rise of Strawberry Daiquiri’s popularity can be traced back to World War II when the availability of distilled spirits shrunk considerably due to strained political relations. Yet, the import of rum from Cuba remained unaffected because of then-US President Franklin Roosevelt’s ‘Good Neighbour’ policy. In the absence of other options, people squarely started experimenting with rum-based tropical cocktails, such as Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri.

The original version of this drink, though, did not feature strawberries. Unlike most other classic cocktails, Daiquiri’s origin story isn’t shrouded in mystery. In fact, an American mining engineer posted in Cuba is credited with creating this delicious concoction. The legend goes that the engineer, Jennings Cox, was hosting a party for his American friends when he ran out of gin. Desperate to keep his guests engaged, the man dashed out to a local alcohol shop for quick replenishment. But gin wasn’t available, so he settled for white rum.

On reaching home, he feared his guests wouldn’t have the palate for Cuban rum’s sharpness. So he decided to dilute the drink with a squeeze of lime and a spoonful of sugar. He named this drink Daiquiri, and sure, it became a party hit.

Despite its popularity in Cuba, the drink didn't quite make a mark in the other parts of the world until 1909, when a US Navy officer Rear Admiral Lucius W Johnson chanced upon Daiquiri on his visit to Cuba. Immensely impressed with this sweet and sour concoction, he decided to recreate the same drink once he returned to his country.

Daiquiri’s popularity is attested by its illustrious patronage. The first time the drink made an official appearance in popular literature was in 1920, in American novelist F Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise. Elsewhere, Ernest Hemingway’s love for the drink gave birth to the famed Hemingway Daiquiri, a rum cocktail without sugar. You see, Hemingway loved his booze but was a diabetic.