The History Of The Banana Daiquiri Starts In The Virgin Islands

Hot summer days call for ice-cold adult beverages, such as a classic frozen Strawberry Daiquiri, or, if you're a bit more literary, this Hemingway Daiquiri. Cooling down with a drink is practically effortless these days, when we can head to the local bar or grocery store to have it made for us or to buy a pre-mixed jug. But these tropical beverages weren't always so easily accessible.  

Picture it: The island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, 1953. British sea captain George Soule was on a mission to find the quintessential Caribbean cocktail and found himself at Mountain Top, the highest point of St. Peter Mountain. There, he concocted the ideal island drink: the Banana Daiquiri. Chilled, frothy, and refreshing, his original recipe consisted of the Virgin Islands' Cruzan rum, the captain's homemade secret banana liqueur, ripe bananas, fresh lime juice, and sugar cane extract. 

Not long after and an ocean away, Harry Yee, a bartender in Waikiki, Hawaii, had the same idea. His concoction was a bit different than Soule's, using locally produced Old Lahaina gold rum, lime juice, banana purée, and a splash of maraschino cherry syrup. Yee is also credited as being the first person to garnish a drink with an orchid and the ever-popular tiny drink umbrella, contributing a bit of festivity to the craft cocktail culture of today. 

You no longer have to travel to the tropics to find a Banana Daiquiri, because this rejuvenating yellow cocktail has made its way around the world and evolved even more from Captain George Soule's and Harry Yee's original recipes. If you want a quick fix, there are a few pre-made, alcohol-included mixes such as Bartenders Trading Company's "I'm Bananas Over You" rum cocktail. 

If you want to play bartender, there are also plenty of banana liqueurs, like The Sweet Shoppe's banana cream liqueur or Blue Chair Bay's banana rum cream, on the market. A plus side to making this drink at home is being able to experiment with diverse ingredients, including different types of rum. However, if you want to completely unwind as though you're on an exotic vacation, there are a few places that have perfected their own interpretations of the Banana Daiquiri. 

At Death & Co. in New York City, Matt Belanger, the head bartender and tropical cocktail connoisseur, makes his version using two different Jamaican rums (gold and white), Giffard Banane du Brésil liqueur, lime juice, and simple syrup. At The Usual in Fort Worth, Texas, bartenders also make theirs with two rums (white and white overproof), fresh banana, lime juice, pineapple juice, simple syrup, and blended with ice. At one point, they even garnished it with a banana dolphin!