Hemingway Daiquiri

Hemingway Daiquiri Story

In the 1930s, Ernest Hemingway spent most of his time in Havana, writing in his apartment and drinking down the street at the El Floridita bar. El Floridita was the same spot where legendary bartender Constantino Ribalaigua was slinging the best daiquiris around. Hemingway’s preferred daiquiri, affectionately referred to as the “papa doble,” contained no sugar and double the rum. The house recipe for Hemingway’s daiquiri evolved over time to include grapefruit juice and maraschino liqueur, which, in balanced measurements, offers a funky, bitter play on the traditional daiquiri. Not one for moderate drinking, Hemingway held the house record of drinking seventeen in a single evening, while hanging at El Floridita with Guillermo, the famous pelota player Guillermo. In his defense, “there was no sugar in the drinks and we each ate two steak sandwiches.” He would boast about this night in letters to friends for years to come.