Classic cocktail · Guided recipe
Daiquiri
Start makingForget the frozen slush machine — the real daiquiri is white rum, lime and sugar, shaken ice-cold and served straight up. It is the drink bartenders order to judge other bartenders, and you can make it on your first try.
In the glassWhite rum · Fresh lime juice · Simple syrup
See exact amounts
What goes in
Ingredients
Set up before you pour
Use a coupe glass.
The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.
- Standard size
- 200 ml6¾ oz
- Ice & serve
- Chill it first; serve without ice.
- If you don’t own one
- Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.
- cocktail shaker (or a jam jar with a tight lid)
- strainer — cobbler shakers have one built into the cap; otherwise a Hawthorne strainer or small sieve
- jigger or measuring spoon
- White rum60 ml
- Fresh lime juice30 ml
- Simple syrup22 ml
From bottle to glass
Method
- 01
Measure into the shaker Pour 60 ml white rum into your shaker
White rum
- 02
Measure into the shaker Add 30 ml fresh lime juice
Fresh lime juice
- 03
Measure into the shaker Add 22 ml simple syrup
Simple syrup
- 04
Ice the shaker Fill the shaker with ice
- 05
Seal and shake Seal and shake hard
- 06
Strain cleanly Strain into your chilled glass — no ice in the glass
- 07
Finish the drink Finish it — add a lime wheel
Know your drink
About the Daiquiri
From Cuban mines to canon
The daiquiri takes its name from a beach and iron mine near Santiago de Cuba, where American engineer Jennings Cox mixed rum, lime and sugar for guests around 1898. It sailed to the U.S. Navy and Washington’s Army & Navy Club, and by the 1930s the great Constantino Ribalaigua of El Floridita was shaking thousands a week.
Bartenders call it a benchmark drink: three cheap ingredients, nowhere to hide. If a bar makes a great daiquiri, you can trust everything else on the menu.
Common questions
Daiquiri FAQ
Is a daiquiri supposed to be frozen?
No — the classic daiquiri is shaken with ice and strained into a chilled coupe, no blender in sight. Frozen strawberry daiquiris are a 1950s slush-machine descendant. The original is one of the finest three-ingredient cocktails ever created.
What is a Hemingway daiquiri?
Ernest Hemingway’s custom order at El Floridita in Havana: double the rum, no sugar, plus grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur. Drier and sharper than the classic — we have a separate Hemingway Daiquiri recipe if you want to try his way.
Why is my daiquiri too sour or too sweet?
Balance lives in the syrup. Limes vary in acidity, so treat 22 ml (¾ oz) of simple syrup as a starting point: too sharp, add a teaspoon more syrup; too sweet, a few more drops of lime. Always taste before you strain.
What ingredients are in a Daiquiri?
A classic Daiquiri calls for 60 ml (2 oz) White rum, 30 ml (1 oz) Fresh lime juice, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Simple syrup. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.
How strong is a Daiquiri?
A standard Daiquiri is roughly 21% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.
Is a Daiquiri shaken or stirred?
A Daiquiri is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.
What glass do you serve a Daiquiri in?
Serve a Daiquiri in a chilled coupe glass, well chilled — this drink is served without ice, so a cold glass keeps it cold.
Sharpen the technique
Skills used in this recipe
How to shake a cocktail properly
The grip, timing, ice and visual cues that make shaken drinks colder and brighter.
Read the guide
Fresh citrus for cocktails: juice, wedges and balance
Get brighter lime, lemon and grapefruit flavor with better prep and storage.
Read the guide
Simple syrup ratios, storage and flavor variations
Make a consistent sweetener and understand when rich syrup changes a recipe.
Read the guideWhere to go next
If you like the Daiquiri, try these.
Pineapple Daiquiri
Pineapple juice does two things at once here: it sweetens and it thickens, which is why the lime stays at full measure and the syrup drops to a bar spoon. Use juice you pressed yourself, or a carton with nothing added, never the sugared canned stuff.
View recipe
Hemingway Daiquiri
Papa’s daiquiri: white rum with lime, grapefruit and a touch of maraschino — drier and more complex than the original. Also called the Papa Doble.
View recipe
Daiquiri No. 2
Orange juice does something odd to a Daiquiri. It pushes the lime into the background and lets the rum's sweetness sit forward, so what you get is less bracing than the original and rather better suited to the middle of the afternoon.
View recipe