Daiquiri

A classic daiquiri is a short, shaken combination of rum, fresh lime and sugar, served straight up. It is not automatically a frozen fruit drink: this measured house version uses syrup for consistent sweetness and keeps the lime-and-rum balance at its centre.

Ingredients

• — 50ml white rum (40% ABV for the units calculation)
• — 25ml freshly squeezed lime juice
• — 15ml sugar syrup (1:1 sugar dissolved in water)
• — Ice cubes
• — A thin lime wheel, optional garnish

Method

1. Chill a coupe. Squeeze and measure fresh lime juice, removing any seeds.
2. Add the rum, lime juice and 1:1 sugar syrup to a shaker. Fill with ice and seal securely.
3. Shake hard for 10–15 seconds until the shaker feels cold. Use a full shaker of ice rather than a few melting cubes.
4. Double-strain through the shaker strainer and a fine sieve into the chilled coupe. Add the optional lime wheel and serve immediately without ice in the glass.

Why it works

Lime brings acidity, syrup makes it balanced rather than simply sour, and shaking supplies chill and controlled dilution. The simplicity leaves the rum exposed, which is why small changes in the bottle or syrup concentration are noticeable. We make Dilay; its spice-led version is an optional first-party adaptation, not a replacement for the classic's identity.

Which Rum to Use

A white rum is the clearest starting point for a classic-style daiquiri. Choose a bottle whose flavour you enjoy and check its labelled strength. An aged rum changes the base character; spiced rum changes it again by adding aromatic seasoning.

Avoid treating a stronger bottle as automatically better. This recipe is built around a 50ml measure at 40% for the unit statement. Measure carefully and adjust syrup or citrus independently of the rum.

Fruit Variations Stay with This Recipe

For a frozen mango adaptation, blend 50ml white rum, 80g ripe prepared mango, 20ml fresh lime, 10ml 1:1 syrup and 80g crushed ice. For banana, use 80g peeled ripe banana, 50ml white rum, 20ml lime, 5ml syrup and 80g crushed ice. These are our starting proportions, not IBA specifications; texture depends on the fruit and blender.

Use an ice-rated blender, stop before scraping, and add a little cold water if needed to keep the blades moving. Blend to order. A fruit variation does not need an extra liqueur or second rum measure. The existing strawberry recipe has its own measured fruit-and-ice method and remains on the strawberry drinks page.

The classic vs the spiced version

The IBA Daiquiri uses 60ml white Cuban rum, 20ml lime and two bar spoons of superfine sugar. Our 50ml/25ml/15ml syrup recipe is a clearly labelled house adaptation, not an exact conversion of those sugar spoons. Use 50ml Dilay instead of white rum for a spiced version; cardamom and ginger then sit behind the lime rather than reproducing a white-rum classic.

Tips for getting it right

• — The syrup concentration matters. Fifteen millilitres of 2:1 rich syrup is not equivalent to 15ml of the 1:1 syrup used here.
• — Adjust the next serving by 5ml syrup if your limes are unusually tart or your rum changes the balance. Keep the rum measure fixed rather than trying to correct sourness with extra alcohol.
• — Fresh juice makes a marked difference. Squeeze shortly before making the drink and keep prepared juice chilled; old or bottled juice can taste less lively.
• — Strain promptly after shaking. Leaving the cocktail in the ice-filled shaker continues dilution and warms the glass you chilled.
• — For a frozen variation, blend the liquids with a measured starting amount of 80g crushed ice in an ice-rated blender. This is a texture adaptation, not the classic shaken method.

Related serves

For the existing berry variation, see the frozen strawberry daiquiri

For a creamy pineapple drink, try a Piña Colada

Choose a bottle for this drink in our Daiquiri white-rum comparison

Frequently asked questions

Recipe references

• IBA Daiquiri specification — sugar-spoon classic

Our method and spiced adaptations are described separately from the referenced classic specifications.

Approx. 2.0 UK units per serving from the measured alcoholic ingredients. 50ml white rum at 40% ABV. Check your bottle labels if substituting.

Please drink responsibly. 18+. Visit drinkaware.co.uk for the facts.