Cuban Daiquiri with Fresh Lime Juice, Simple Syrup and Crushed Ice

Make the simple syrup: combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves — about 2 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat and cool completely before using. Simple syrup keeps refrigerated for 2 weeks.

Ingredients

• 2 oz light rum (Bacardi Carta Blanca or a Cuban-style silver rum)
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice (never bottled — the fresh acidity is essential)
• 3/4 oz simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, dissolved)
• Lime wheel for garnish
• Crushed ice for shaking
• For the simple syrup:
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• Optional: 1 tsp demerara sugar added for subtle molasses depth

Instructions

1. Make the simple syrup: combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves — about 2 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat and cool completely before using. Simple syrup keeps refrigerated for 2 weeks.
2. Juice the limes: roll each lime firmly on the counter before cutting to maximize juice yield. Juice fresh — the chemistry of bottled lime juice is different and produces a flat, slightly bitter result. Measure precisely: a daiquiri lives and dies by its balance.
3. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the rum, lime juice, and simple syrup. The proportions of 2:1:0.75 (rum:lime:syrup) are the classic template — adjust the syrup slightly based on how tart your limes are.
4. Seal the shaker and shake vigorously for 15 full seconds. The shaker should become painfully cold in your hand and covered in frost on the outside. This is correct — a properly shaken daiquiri is ice-cold and slightly diluted from the melted ice, which rounds out the flavors.
5. Double-strain through a fine mesh strainer into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass. The fine strainer catches ice chips for a crystal-clear, silky texture.
6. Garnish with a thin lime wheel placed on the rim of the glass. No additional garnish is needed — the daiquiri's beauty is its clarity and simplicity.
7. Serve immediately and drink while ice-cold. Ernest Hemingway drank double daiquiris at El Floridita in Havana every afternoon in the 1930s. The daiquiri is one of the six classic cocktails that form the foundation of all modern bartending — and one of the few where perfection requires nothing except three perfect ingredients in perfect balance.