Virgin Daiquiri
Lime, sugar and ice, shaken until it is cold enough to frost the glass.
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 12 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 360 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 360 ml line. Lime juice - Roughly two limes, and nothing from a bottle
- 240 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 240 ml line. Simple syrup
- 480 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 480 ml line. Soda water - Standing in for the spirit, so the drink has some length to it
- 12 wheels Lime (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Shake lime, syrup and soda hard with ice, then strain into a chilled coupe.
Method
Batch (12 drinks)Batch (12 drinks) - about 1.08 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Chill a coupe in the freezer or fill it with ice while you work.
- Shake the lime juice, syrup and soda water hard with plenty of ice for about 15 seconds.
- Strain into the chilled coupe, leaving the ice behind.
- Add a thin wheel of lime, and drink it before the frost on the glass has gone.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Virgin Daiquiri
The Daiquiri is the most honest sour there is - rum, lime, sugar, nothing else - which means taking the rum out leaves a drink with nowhere to hide. Done properly it is not a compromise at all: it is a very cold limeade with the balance of a cocktail, and it is the recipe to reach for when somebody says a mocktail cannot be grown-up.
Getting it right
Shake it, and shake it far harder than feels sensible. The Daiquiri is a spirit, a citrus and a sugar, and when it is poured it wants a little water in it from the ice; shaking hard is what chills the drink, softens the edges and puts the fine frost on the outside of the glass. The soda water takes the place of the volume a spirit would have contributed, so keep it in the shaker rather than topping the glass later.
Tasting notes
Sharp, clean and bracing, with the lime right at the front and a soft cane finish. It is the coldest, driest drink in this half of the book.