Daiquiri (Difford's recipe)

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (522 ratings)

Photographed in a Retro Coupe

Ingredients:
1 23 oz Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
12 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
8 drop Difford's Daiquiri Bitters optional
13 oz Chilled water omit if using wet ice
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of lime zest twist and lime wedge.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Express lime zest twist over cocktail and discard.
  6. Garnish with lime wedge on rim.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10

Review:

Crisp, light and refreshing. Delicately simple yet with perfectly balanced complexity of flavours.

For an even better Daiquiri: In place of sugar syrup, use two slightly heaped 5ml measuring spoons of powdered sugar. If you like your Daiquiris very slightly tart then knock the excess sugar off so the sugar lays flat on the spoon. The sweeter you like your Daiquiris, the more heaped your loaded spoons should be. (I prefer slightly raised rather than flat.) To ensure the sugar fully dissolves, stir all the ingredients in the base of the shaker prior to adding ice and shaking.

To fill a large coupe, you'll need to scale up this recipe:
75 ml (2½ oz) Light white rum
22.5 ml (¾ oz) Lime juice
15 ml (½ oz) Sugar syrup
12 drops Difford's Daiquiri Bitters
10 ml (⅓ oz) Chilled water (omit if wet ice)

View readers' comments

AKA: Daiquiri No. 1

History:

My own tried and tested rum-heavy 10 parts rum to 3 parts lime to 2 parts sugar formula. This is my go-to recipe when making a straight-up Daiquiri with a dry light white (charcoal-filtered) rum. When using a more full-bodied rum, I follow a 6:2:1 Daiquiri recipe, which is better suited to "golden" rums.

Being the original Daiquiri, it is appropriately called Daiquiri No. 1 and is also known in Cuba as a "Natural Daiquiri," referring to its being shaken rather than blended.

This is the first of four numbered daiquiris in the 1934 1st edition Bar La Florida Cocktails, menu book of the famous El Floridita Bar, Havana, Cuba.

Daiquiri Num. 1
2 Ounces Bacardí Rum.
1 Teaspoonful Sugar.
Juice of half a lemon.
Cracked ice.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Bar La Florida Cocktails, 1st Edition, 1934

See: Daiquiri cocktail history

Nutrition:

One serving of Daiquiri (Difford's recipe) contains 139 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.1 standard drinks
  • 17.32% alc./vol. (17.32° proof)
  • 14.8 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 18 comments for Daiquiri (Difford's recipe).
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Annechien’s Avatar Annechien
30th August 2024 at 20:20
8:3:2 with plantation 3 stars. I’m in heaven.
Matt’s Avatar Matt
23rd July 2024 at 02:53
Wonderful balance, but a tough ratio to remember and then figure out how to convert into measurements (at least for those of us not using metric). Great proportions of citrus and sweetness - if you want to taste the rum use something bold, if not use a mild-mannered white rum.
7th June 2024 at 04:29
The drink of drinks.
Steven Cook’s Avatar Steven Cook
4th January 2024 at 23:22
One of the greatest simple cocktails out there, and it's easy to vary with different rums, demerara syrup, bitters and other additions without spoiling it. The classic one can elevate a cheap rum or highlight an expensive one.
Ignacy Szczupal’s Avatar Ignacy Szczupal
28th May 2023 at 11:24
Replacing the white rum based on molasses with an overproof agricultural rum from Martinique/Guadeloupe/Reunion adds a whole new olfactory dimension and creates something between a daiquiri and a ti'punch, a daipunch or a tiquiri! Give it a try!
Ignacy Szczupal’s Avatar Ignacy Szczupal
18th March 2023 at 21:53
Just perfect.
Dan Renton’s Avatar Dan Renton
27th October 2022 at 19:22
Simon…i had the privilege of a chat a month or two ago regarding a shaker I bought…great customer service and lovely advice on Rum. Just made with this blend having tried maybe 20 clear rum comparisons in last 6 months (?) and your recipe is the best…of course…thank you. Nothing beats a daiquiri. Full stop.!
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
28th October 2022 at 07:29
Many thanks, Dan. Agreed. Nothing beats a good Daiquiri!
Keith Jones’ Avatar Keith Jones
23rd August 2022 at 06:09
Nice!
Added 12 drops of bobs daiquiri bitters. Recommends 8, thought I’d push it a bit. Really nice. Sour, nice bit of sweetness. Australian Beenleigh 3yr white rum. Superb
24th July 2022 at 17:33
I tweaked this slightly to be a 3:1:1 and it was magical. Not even using the best ingredients it was wonderfully balanced. Excellent
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
20th July 2022 at 01:32
Perfect daiquiri. Refreshing and simple to make. Key here is quality ingredients. Perfect for National Daiquiri Day.