Cruzan Spiced Rum Daiquiri – Put Your Faith in History
Let’s say we take a trip back to Cuba, circa 1898, to re-discover the origins of the daiquiri rum cocktail recipe. Once a staple of Caribbean watering holes, this delicious rum drink is now virtually forgotten in its home region. Sadly, its legacy has largely been besmirched by blenders and purveyors of mass-market sour drink mix.
After the Spanish-American War (1898), an American engineer by the name of Jennings Stockton Cox of the Juraga Iron Company was sent to the town of Daiquiri, Cuba. His mission: develop iron-ore mines.
The U.S. had secured temporary control of Cuba from the Spanish with the Treaty of Paris. (The USA also gained colonial authority over Puerto Rico and Guam via this declaration.) American industrial interests were in a hurry to make claims on Cuba’s mineral deposits of the island before the island could achieve full independence.
Anyway, I have no idea how Mr. Cox’s iron mine endeavors turned out. Somewhere along the way during his time in Cuba, though, he did manage to develop something special. That something, of course, was the daiquiri.
Accidental Birth
Mr. Cox reputedly created the cocktail while entertaining guests. The impetus for his alchemy was a lack of gin, the preferred liquor in his social circle. As a fix, Cox simply fashioned a cocktail from the prevalent local abundance, combining local Cuban rum with a couple of limes and some sugar over ice.
Presto. A legend is born.
The daiquiri then gained prominence during Prohibition, as Americans flocked to Cuba for a wee legal dram.
Ernest Hemmingway further contributed to its fame. His tales of his Hemmingway Daiquiri variation, made exclusively for him at Havana’s El Floridita Hotel Bar, turned countless Americans onto the drink.
In the 1940s, a combination of wartime alcohol rationing and President Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America contributed to the mass dispersant of rum-based drinks in the USA. Caribbean and faux Polynesian cocktails suddenly became all the rage. This spurred a jump in Cuban tourism and the advent of stateside Tiki bars. The daiquiri was hip, fashionable, and now generally served shaken and strained up in a martini glass or coupe.
Then, the ’60s showed up.
Death of the Classic Daiquiri
The Cuban Government nationalized American corporate interests. This, of course, strained relations between the neighboring countries. The result: the seemingly everlasting U.S. embargo. Anything Cuban was immediately painted with a broad red swath of communistic ideals. In turn, the daiquiri quickly fell out of favor.
Next, the ’70s boogied along and the resurrected frozen daiquiri took hold as the accepted defacto recipe. A frozen mess of cheap liquor and sweetened processed lime mix or synthetic fruit flavors, this image of the rotating vat of slush became the symbol of an easy way of drinking. This tradition of blended drink has continued until recently. Nowadays, asking for a daiquiri at the local bar will prompt the question: “What flavor?”
Enter the Cruzan Spiced Rum Daiquiri
All of this leads us to the Cruzan Spiced Rum Daiquiri.
This version isn’t exactly like the original, of course. At the same time, though, it’s far from the frozen flavored fru-fru mess that most people consider to be a daiquiri today.
To be sure, its heart is in the right place; rooted in the historical perfection of the original…
Cheers!
Cruzan 9 Spiced Daiquiri
Let’s put our faith in history and re-create the classic daiquiri but with a Cruzan 9 Spiced Daiquiri twist for a chance to enjoy this classic a new way.
Ingredients
- 1 oz Cruzan Light Rum
- 1 oz Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum
- .75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
- .75 oz simple syrup (rich syrup works best at a 2:1 ratio)
Instructions
- Combine everything over ice.
- Shake hard for 20 seconds.
- Strain into a martini glass.
- Enjoy!
Related Posts
The Classic Daiquiri Recipe – You’ve Been Doing it Wrong
The Trelawny Daiquiri – A Tempestuous Rum Cocktail Recipe
Classic Cruzan Daiquiri Rum Cocktail Recipe with Jesse Card
