Greta Garbo (Difford's Guide Recipe)

There's a few cocktails out there dedicated to actress Greta Garbo. This one is the first I've seen that doesn't use Swedish punsch. It is based on the Daiquiri, with hints of almond and anise, so it has a very classical profile. The lack of Swedish punsch makes me think that this Greta Garbo is something the actress might have enjoyed, rather than just being a gimic to sell Swedish punsch.

Difford's Guide does not supply any origin story or apocryphal anecdote about the creation of this cocktail other than to link it with Garbo and mention that it is one of many. 

I like what anise and the suggestive anise star garnish does to a classic Daiquiri's flavor. There is something Parisian or continental about this cocktail that has the feel of 1920s films. The presentation is beautiful and the flavors perfectly balanced. You will want to have more than one of these.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/6 oz. Pernod (Ricard used)
• anise star garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the anise star. 

 

Forbidden Daiquiri (Original Recipe)

 

Drinkers of Hemingway Daiquiris love how grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur really change the direction of the classic Caribbean cocktail. But what if you don't have grapefruit? The answer lies in Forbidden Fruit, a liqueur that was invented to preserve grapefruit flavor in cognac.

Back in the days before air transportation, Europeans couldn't always get fresh grapefruit juice. Forbidden Fruit was a popular French liqueur right up until modern canning facilities were able to pump out canned juices. By the time grapefruit were being farmed in the U.S. and flown around the world, Forbidden Fruit had already disappeared from bars. 

This Daiquiri hearkens back to the time when fresh fruit and such luxuries as tropical drinks were in short supply but good spirits were not. It was almost like the Daiquiri was "forbidden," not by any kind of decree but by scarcity of ingredients. 

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. Forbidden Fruit liqueur (homemade used) 
• 1/2 tsp. maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
  

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Frozen Guava Daiquiri

 

At first glance, I'm thinking, "Just what we need. Another flavor of Daiquiri." But guava is a far better fruit in a Daiquiri than the strawberry. Taste it and you will see that there is more acid in guava and the flavor is a little unrecognizable but agreeably tropical. That's a good thing. You don't want your Daiquiri tasting like a New England farmer's market. It's a Caribbean drink, after all!

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Plantation 3 Stars used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. guava nectar
• 1 tsp. creme de bananes (1/2 oz. MurLarkey banana whiskey and 1 tsp. sugar used)

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a deep champagne glass (stemless wine glass used).

Strega Daiquiri

I can't believe that this Daiquiri concept never came to me in all my mixing at home. Strega, instead of sugar syrup, is an excellent choice for making a flavored Daiquiri. You can't do it without rum, however. Flor de Cana Extra Seco is a good choice for that--a flavorful white rum that lends itself naturally to Daiquiris but doesn't fight the Strega.

This drinks departs so far from the traditional Daiquiri, and yet it is familiar. Lemon and orange juice replace lime. Orgeat replaces sugar syrup.

A rich orgeat is perfect in this cocktail. I'm surprised that more Daiquiris don't specify orgeat in some way. The balance of this drink is exceptional, between sweet and sour and bitter and nutty.

• 1 oz. Strega
• 1 oz. light rum (Flor de Cana Extra Seco used)
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. orgeat to taste
• maraschino cherry

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Passionfruit Daquiri

Ron Venado is a Guatemalan rum that is mild on flavor and a little sweet. I used it to make a Daiquiri with a passionfruit syrup I picked up at a bodega. This cocktail was especially pleasing to those restaurant employees from South America. The passionfruit and the rum itself were a little piece of home.

• 2 oz. Ron Venado light rum
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 3/4 oz. passionfruit syrup
• dehydrated lime slice

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float the lime slice on the surface of the drink.

Strawberry Daiquiri

A Strawberry Daiquiri made with real strawberries is pretty amazing. Look at that almost creamy texture of the blend of fruit and ice! This drink is purely 80s vintage, those tropical drinks that made their way up from Miami and rum hot spots along with Caribbean music that really fueled a craze for the exotic at places like TGI Friday's all over the country.

The problem was that the cocktail was bastardized with strawberry sour mix to make them easier to pump out. A real Strawberry Daiquiri is sour with strawberry seeds! Too much sweetness be overkill.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 7 large strawberries cored and chopped

Blend all ingredients with cracked ice (about 2 cups) except one strawberry saved for garnishing. Pour in a chilled cocktail glass or wine goblet. Garnish with the strawberry.

Derby Daiquiri

This is a Daiquiri with orange juice served frozen in a champagne flute. I'm not sure what justifies this cocktail being distinct from a frozen Daiquiri, but my sense is that it is used to placate country club members looking for the tropical drink they had in Havana (Yes, that long ago!) with something that wouldn't look to exotic on their white table cloths. It's the cocktail equivalent to a popular white singer covering a Cuban song so that the original remains unknown to white audiences. I'm not accusing this cocktail of racism, though the name Derby has other connotations. I'm just saying that the history of cocktails is like the history of America. It is what it is.

• 2 oz. light rum (Cruzan aged rum used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 tsp. sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until slushy and pour into a chilled champagne flute. 

Sloppy Joe's Cocktail

This must be a recipe created at the Key West Sloppy Joe's restaurant or some such propitiatory thing. There are many drinks like this out there with a bartender or restaurant name and a twist on a classic. This classic beneath the classic is a Daiquiri, but this time it has the addition of dry vermouth and grenadine, so the color and spice profile is different. It's not just citrus anymore.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/2 tsp. grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Cherry Daiquiri

There's not much more to this cocktail than the original Daiquiri, but what a difference it makes. The recipe calls for cherry liqueur, and black cherry Heering fits the bill. There's also a dash .25 tsp. of kirschwasser, which seems unnecessary but adds that dry fug of a clear and strong (and rum-like) brandy to elevate flavors above the expected sweetness.

• 2 oz. light rum 
• 1/2 oz. cherry liqueur
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. kirschwasser
• lime twist

Combine all ingredients except lime twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime twist.