Name: Bacardi Cocktail
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Light white rum; 15 ml Lime juice; 7.5 ml Grenadine syrup; 5 ml Sugar syrup (2:1)

Bacardi Cocktail
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
¹⁄₂ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₄ oz	Monin Grenadine Syrup
¹⁄₆ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Cocktail of the day:

4th February 2025 is Bacardi's birthday

Review:

This classic salmon-pinky cocktail perfectly combines and balances the light rum with the assertive sourness of lime juice and rich sweetness of pomegranate syrup.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Bacardi Special

History:

The Bacardi Cocktail originated in Cuba in 1917 and quickly grew in popularity with the growth of the cocktail culture in the USA after Prohibition, so much so that it became known simply as 'the Bacardi'.

There are two schools of thought over the original ingredients, some believe it was simply a Daiquiri but made using Bacardi rum and that the now ubiquitous grenadine version originated in New York sometime after Prohibition. Others hold that the grenadine was there at inception, after all the earliest known Daiquiri recipe was made with Bacardi rum so grenadine must be the distinguishing factor. However, the number of vintage cocktail books listing a Bacardi Cocktail without grenadine would seem to back up the inclusion of grenadine being a later addition.

Like the Daiquiri, The Bacardi Cocktail was sometimes served frozen and talking about the iced version, Jack Doyle, former barman at Sloppy Joe's in Key West, then Bacardi Imports Inc. barman in New York, explained, "The secret to the iced version was to shake the flaked iced until it looked like sherbet." This technique became known as frappé.

As the Bacardi Cocktail rapidly grew in popularity a small number of establishments neglected to use Bacardi rum as the base ingredient. In 1936, this led the Bacardi Company to take the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel and the Wivel Restaurant in New York's West Fifty-Fourth Street to court to ensure that when a customer asked for "Bacardi" by name they were given Bacardi Rum, so protecting the company's trademark.

Bacardi's case at New York's Supreme Court involved the premise that theirs was a unique rum and Bacardi family members travelled from Cuba to New York to appear as witnesses. Even Enrique Schueg, the third President of the Bacardi Company, took to the witness stand. When asked by Justice Walsh, "Well, how is this Bacardi Rum of yours made?" he replied, "Oh! That is my secret." Despite this secrecy, after deliberation, Justice John L. Walsh eventually affirmed that "Bacardi Rum is unique and uncopyable" and issued a ruling that a Bacardi Cocktail must legally be made with rum manufactured by the Compania Ron Bacardi.

Nutrition:

One serving of Bacardi Cocktail contains 166 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
20.17% alc./vol. (20.17° proof)
17.6 grams of pure alcohol

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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 8 comments for Bacardi Cocktail.
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Avery Garnett

10th April 2024 at 17:17

It's a Daiquiri with some red fruit notes. Tasty, for sure, but not...as good as a Daiquiri.

Juniper Lately

26th February 2024 at 22:45

Oops - made this with Flor de Caña rum before I read about the court ruling… please don’t tell anyone, but it’s still delicious!

Miguel Perales

15th August 2023 at 21:42

Very nice cocktail. Great for a hot summer day. Not overly sweet. I also usually substitute Maraschino syrup for the rich syrup, just to add depth. For a nice riff on this one, search for Bacardi Special here on Difford's. It adds Gin to the mix.

Simon Difford

16th August 2023 at 06:25

Thanks, Miguel. I've added a link to the Bacardi Special above.

Andrew Scurr

31st December 2021 at 17:09

I love this cocktail, but I usually substitute the sugar syrup with a spoonful of syrup from the maraschino cherry jar.

John Gallacher

9th November 2021 at 00:40

Personally, i didn't like this cocktail at all, until... i made a few adjustments, by adding some fresh pineapple juice, (almost the same quantity again), next i added all the ice from the shaker and finally topped it all up with a good splash of lemonade, bingo, now tastes absolutely delicious! ( IMHO) much improved.

Lorenz Kock

20th August 2023 at 16:54

Improvements are one thing but you are discribing something completely different

John Hinojos

25th October 2021 at 00:27

Great rum drink. Easy to make and even better to drink. Wonderful colour. Not too sweet.

Nathalie O'Flynn

5th February 2021 at 21:10

Sipping this right now, nice and easy to make. Having a work team online drinks evening in a couple of months and told them will mix a cocktail with the cam online and will compile a list of easy cocktails with few ingredients in advance which they can make and this is an ideal candidate

Dimitry Vorshevsky

14th February 2021 at 18:22

You all have shakers? Then you should definitely try clover club cocktail.

Anonymous

27th December 2020 at 23:48

What a delight to discover both this website and this cocktail.

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