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We don't understand why our good host decided to drop this recipe from his book. For us it is perhaps one of the most subtly balanced and elegantly complex Daiquiris that we've tried. We used Bounty White and, hoping to give it a bit more presence, eight large basil leaves and Maple Syrup (12.5ml).

A daiquiri infused with basil and sweetened with honey sounded promising, and the herbal character of the basil suggested pairing it with a rhum agricole; I used Rhum J.M rhum agricole blanc. This worked *very* well (use lots of basil and muddle well) and makes for one of my favorite variations that doesn't stray too far from the standard daiquiri recipe. I used 10:3:2 proportions instead of the sweeter proportions given above. Playing with a local honey choice as suggested by G.M. Genovese adds another degree of freedom to explore; I used a 3:1 syrup of Colorado mountain flower honey.

This strikes me as something that could have some interesting flavor variations depending on the brands used. If you are able to get your hands on some Barr Hill Raw Honey, please go for it. I used a 2:1 honey syrup made with it, in addition to Plantation 3 Stars (only white rum I have in house at the moment). Turned out to be a stellar combo, maybe begging for a pinch of black pepper.

Why is the recipe here different than in the book?
Here you use 7 basil leaves and use 1 2/3 shot rum and in the book 3 leaves and 2.5 shots rum.

No I don't know which is the correct one.

Very pleasing cocktail, I would recommend to enjoy it after dinner. Next time I will somewhat reduce the amount of honey, as it turned out sweeter than I expected.

I thought adding lime 2x was a mistake. Adding the second portion brought life to the drink However used about 1/2 the total lime adding just to my taste. I added 2 basil leaves prior to shaking and floated 1 on top for serving. Great flavor