Hemingway Daiquiri Recipe

A Hemingway Daiquiri is a special twist on the classic daiquiri cocktail, inspired by the famous writer, Ernest Hemingway. While a regular daiquiri is made with just rum, lime juice, and simple syrup, the Hemingway version adds grapefruit juice and swaps the simple syrup for maraschino liqueur. Like Hemingway's other signature cocktail, Death In The Afternoon, the drink is low on sugar. That may be because Hemingway himself was trying to cut back on the sweet stuff, though we may never know for sure. 

The maraschino liqueur gives the drink a unique tartness and a hint of cherry sweetness. Although the drink can be made with any type of grapefruit juice, recipe developer Taylor Murray opted to use white grapefruit. "Oro blanco grapefruits are in season in my area, and I love using them anywhere I can. The taste is less bitter and more fragrant than other types of grapefruit," says Murray.

Like many classic cocktails, the ingredients in a Hemingway Daiquiri are simple and straightforward. The main ingredient is rum, which should be a white rum. After that is the star ingredient, the maraschino liqueur. You may be familiar with this spirit, or at least with the famous maraschino cherries. While Luxardo isn't the only maraschino liqueur out there, it's the most common and easy to find. Other than the alcohol, the drink consists of a combination of lime and grapefruit juice.

For this recipe, we are using white grapefruit, but any kind of grapefruit juice is fine. Freshly squeezed citrus is always preferable, but bottled juice can work in a pinch. Don't forget the ice and a shaker!

Grab a shaker and a jigger. Measure out your rum by adding it into the jigger and pouring it into the shaker. Then, measure out the maraschino liqueur and add it to the shaker as well.

Measure out the lime juice and grapefruit juice and add to the shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and shake until the outside of the glass frosts, which should be about 15 seconds.

Grab a chilled glass (or two if you opt to make a batch to share). Strain the shaken cocktail into the glass and fill to the top. Garnish with a lime wheel or curled lime zest (or some other citrus garnish of your choice). 

While this drink can absolutely be consumed on its own, any good drink needs a nice bite to go with. The citrus notes of the drink pair nicely with salty snacks, like roasted nuts, marinated olives, or potato chips. For something more substantial, this drink could go with fresh seafood, like a fish ceviche, or grilled chicken tacos.