What Animal Is Joe Eating?

The Quito Daiquiri

Posted: 6/29/2008

Ernest Hemmingway drank daiquiris. Not the fruity ice-blended pink girly drinks most people think of when they hear the word ‘daiquiri,’ but a real daiquiri— rum, lime, a bit of simple syrup— shaken over ice and strained into a martini glass. They’re very tasty, and if Hemmingway were still alive, I’d dare anyone to walk up to him and say that he was drinking a girl’s drink. Once bloodied and perspective changed, the daiquiri would escape your 70s purgatory of fern bars and hands of Love Boat matrons.

A college buddy of mine is repping for a liqueur company. Last fall, he brought some samples over to my house so that I could taste them and perhaps come up with some recepies. One of the liqueurs is called Espiritu del Ecuador. It’s sweet, with a mild flavor of soft tropical fruits infused with vanilla and a hint of caramel. I tried a few combinations, looking for something that would match well with the tropical fruit of the Espritu.

And then I remembered the original daiquiri. The lime of the daiquiri enhances the tropical nature of the liqueur and causes the vanilla to become more prominant, further enhancing its floral nature. It’s become my favorite drink.

Quito Daiquiri
½ shot Espiritu
1 shot white rum
½ shot sweetened lime juice (Rose’s or similar)
juice of ½ lime

Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass. Pour over a slice of lime in the glass.

As Espiritu can be hard to find (it’s only available in Ecuador and in the NYC area, currently), a poor substitute is the notoriously hard-to-mix Midori, but it’ll lack the floral nose and vanilla hint of the Espiritu. And it’ll have an otherworldly green hue that screams, ‘girl drink.’

What Animal Is Joe Eating?

Updated 12/6/06

The Quito Daiquiri